COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Two men have been charged with robbing an elderly couple at gunpoint in the Gold Coast.
The attack happened about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday when Bryan Martin and John Davis-Diming began walking behind a 70-year-old woman and 69-year-old man in the first block of East Delaware Place, prosecutors said.
Martin, 18, soon stepped in front of the couple and pulled a gun, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said during a bond hearing Thursday.
The 70-year-old woman handed over her purse, prosecutors said, and Martin and Davis-Diming, 19, began to walk away.
At that point, the 69-year-old man tried to grab back his companion's purse, according to Scaduto. The man fell to the ground without the bag — but got right back up and began to chase the robbers, prosecutors said.
He didn't catch them. But a doorman nearby called police when he saw Martin and Davis-Diming running away, Scaduto said.
When police arrested the pair three blocks away, in the first block of East Bellevue Place, about 10:35 a.m. Tuesday, officers recovered a .32 caliber handgun with one live round, authorities said.
Martin was also carrying in his pocket a .22 caliber magazine, prosecutors said.
Martin later admitted to police that he and Davis-Diming "took the train Downtown and saw the old people that they decided to rob," according to Scaduto.
Martin, of the 12000 block of South State Street, is slated to begin college classes in the fall, according to his public defender.
Davis-Diming, of the 100 block of East 122nd Place, is a high school student who anticipates returning to school in the fall, his public defender said.
Both men are charged with armed robbery with firearm. Cook County Judge Laura Sullivan on Thursday ordered Martin and Davis-Diming held in lieu of $275,000 bail each.
No injuries were reported.
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