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Bridge Mugger Said 'I Hate White People. Give Me Your Wallet': Prosecutors

By Erica Demarest | May 24, 2016 11:08am | Updated on May 24, 2016 5:15pm
 Leroy Willis, 45, is charged with a hate crime, aggravated battery and attempted armed robbery.
Leroy Willis, 45, is charged with a hate crime, aggravated battery and attempted armed robbery.
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DNAinfo; Chicago Police Department

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — "I hate white people. Give me your wallet."

That's what an armed robber told Todd Light moments before plunging a knife into Light's stomach about 11:30 p.m. Sunday on the Washington Street Bridge, according to prosecutors.

"He basically introduced himself by sticking a knife in me," Light, 49, said Tuesday. "Honestly, if he'd come up to me and just said, 'Give me your wallet,' I might have done it. But he started with violence."

Light, who works as a security guard, fought back — eventually knocking the knife out of his attacker's hand and detaining the man until police arrived.

Leroy Willis, 45, is now charged with a hate crime, attempted armed robbery and aggravated battery using a deadly weapon.

"Mr. Willis, we don't have to tolerate haters," Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. said during a bond hearing Tuesday. "You crossed a line, sir. You are done."

The judge ordered Willis, who is on parole for carjacking and attempted armed robbery, held without bail.

According to prosecutors, Light was leaving work about 11:30 p.m. Sunday when he decided to pause on the Washington Street Bridge to take in the view.

"It's a nice, calming way for me to relax after work," Light said. "I grew up on a river, so it always calms me down to have a few minutes to myself, usually."

But as Light scanned the river Sunday night, Willis crossed the road and stood directly behind him, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said in court Tuesday.

Light was surprised to feel someone so close, he said. As he turned to face the stranger, Willis pulled a knife and said, "I hate white people. Give me your wallet," according to prosecutors.

"Then he stabbed me," Light said. "And I realized he'd done it a couple times already. That was a shock."

Scaduto said Light was stabbed twice in his abdomen. The Rogers Park man fought back, prosecutors said, grabbing Willis' arm and knocking the knife, a small steak knife with a crooked blade, to the ground.

At that point, Light said, he offered to give Willis his backpack, and Willis paused. But as Light pulled the bag off his shoulders, he swung it toward Willis — hitting the man in his head.

"I figured: He set the rules of engagement" by using the knife, Light said. "And this was a fight. Honestly, it was a fight for my life. I was focused on not dying at that point. ... I had no idea how bad I'd been hurt. That's a frightening thing."

Light said he didn't want to let Willis go because he wasn't sure Willis would run away. The man could continue to attack, Light said, so, "I just jumped on him and wrestled him and started yelling for help."

Eventually, a good Samaritan heard the cries and flagged down a car, according to prosecutors. Police were called, and Willis was arrested about 11:35 p.m. Sunday in the 400 block of West Washington Street, court records show.

Light said he's healing well after the attack and is looking forward to returning to work.

Since Sunday, he's fielded multiple calls from local media.

"I stood up for myself, and that's big news," Light said Tuesday. "That's kind of sad."

"I don't want to be scared," he continued. "I was scared, but I was also, I don't know, incredibly insulted, I guess you can say. I think what was initially running through my head was: How f------ dare you? How f------ dare you walk up to me on a public street and do this to me? I was outraged."

According to state records, Willis was released on parole in November 2015 for a 2002 attempted armed robbery and carjacking conviction, in which he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Willis, of the 11000 block of South Wentworth Avenue in Roseland, has prior convictions for armed robbery, robbery, aggravated robbery, carjacking and illegal gun possession.

According to his public defender, Willis has worked as a packer through a temp agency for the last three months.

Contributing: Evan F. Moore

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