COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — An armed man tried to rob a Pace medical transport bus Monday before eventually carjacking a nearby SUV and punching its owner, prosecutors said.
Police caught up with Gerald Bradford, 20, in a gas station bathroom after the SUV driver activated the "Find My iPhone" app on his stolen cell phone, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said during a bond hearing Wednesday.
The bizarre crime spree started about 6:25 a.m. Monday when Bradford pulled up to the 7800 block of South Chappel Avenue in a car that had been reported stolen July 10, prosecutors said.
There, a Pace medical-transport driver was loading a passenger into the backseat of his vehicle, prosecutors said.
The 37-year-old driver had just gotten back into the driver's seat when Bradford approached with a gun, Scaduto said. The driver immediately put the bus into gear, reversed and sped off — but not before noting that his attacker was wearing a white shirt, low-slung coral shorts and underwear with large stars on them, prosecutors said.
Bradford appeared in court Wednesday in a plain white tee and coral shorts. Several inches worth of white underwear with red and blue stars were clearly visible above the shorts' waistline.
Shortly after the Pace incident, Bradford carjacked a Hyundai Tucson in the 8000 block of South Merrill Avenue, according to an arrest report.
Still armed with a gun, Bradford insisted the driver sit in the front passenger seat, prosecutors said. Bradford took the man's wallet, cash and iPhone and demanded the man's iPhone passcode, according to Scaduto.
Bradford then punched the victim and told him to get out of the car before driving off, court records show.
The victim used a neighbor's phone to call 911 and then helped police track his stolen car and phone using the "Find My iPhone" app, which placed Bradford at a South Side gas station, prosecutors said.
Officers found both Bradford and the victim's stolen iPhone inside a bathroom at 1400 E. 87th St. about 7 a.m. Monday, according to Scaduto. Officers also recovered a .45 caliber handgun with five live rounds and a defaced serial number, court records show.
Bradford, of the 6300 block of South Laflin Street, was charged with armed robbery, armed kidnapping, attempted armed robbery and possession of a stolen vehicle.
Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. on Wednesday set bail for Bradford at $500,000.
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