COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — The inmate who led a takeover of Cook County Jail last month was mad he couldn't visit his brothers before being sent to another facility, prosecutors said Monday.
Cordarryl Stevenson, 27, repeatedly told deputies he wanted to see his two brothers — both inmates in a different area of Cook County Jail, 2700 S. California Ave. — before being transferred to prison, prosecutors said.
When the request was denied, Stevenson and accomplice Martin Alvarado, 24, took a shank from another inmate and led the takeover of their housing unit July 28, Assistant State's Attorney Erin Antonietti said during a bond hearing Monday.
The pair stabbed a fellow inmate multiple times before emergency responders were able to quash the situation, prosecutors said.
SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH VIDEO OF THE TAKEOVER
Alvarado has been in custody since April 2015 after he allegedly murdered his girlfriend's 18-month-old son for urinating while Alvarado changed the boy's diaper, the Tribune reported.
Stevenson, meanwhile, has been in jail since September 2014 on charges of armed robbery and carjacking. He's picked up three new cases in jail, court records show; each is for aggravated battery to a guard.
The mayhem started about 4:30 p.m. July 28 inside the Division 10 housing unit, which houses the county's maximum-security detainees, authorities have said.
Stevenson was "agitated" about not being able to see his brothers and hit another inmate, according to Antonietti. When the inmate tried to report the attack, Stevenson got a shank from a different inmate and tried to rip down a security camera, prosecutors said.
Stevenson then covered the camera in a substance that was believed to be toothpaste, and continued to demand to see his brothers, Antonietti noted.
Around the same time, Alvarado began throwing soapy water, feces and urine at the guards, prosecutors said. Inmates tied together sheets, and someone shouted that Stevenson had hostages.
Several inmates crushed and snorted pills that were in the housing unit, Antonietti said. The inmates then suggested to Stevenson that he should attack the man who was newest to the District 10 housing unit.
At that point, prosecutors said, Stevenson told authorities he would start hurting people if he wasn't allowed to see his brothers. He and Alvardo beat an inmate and tied the man's neck and legs with sheets, Antonietti said.
Alvarado is accused of repeatedly punching another inmate, whose neck was also tied with sheets.
According to prosecutors, Stevenson continued to demand to see his brothers while threatening to stab the man who was newest to District 10. Stevenson and Alvarado kept watch on the man and traded possession of the shank.
At one point, prosecutors said, Alvarado stabbed the man in his leg, Stevenson began to make stabbing motions over the man — but never actually cut him.
Emergency crews then blasted into the housing unit with a "flashbang" about 7:30 p.m., according to Antonietti. That's when Stevenson actually plunged the knife into the victim's leg.
That man was treated and released from Stroger Hospital, authorities said. A weapon was recovered on the scene.
A 14-second video clip released the day of the incident by the Cook County Sheriff's Office shows a man who appears to be Stevenson waving what appears to be a shank over an inmate, who is pressed against the window with his hands up. About a dozen inmates are seated on a bench behind them.
Warning: Graphic video
Stevenson and Alvarado were captured about 7:30 p.m. A 60-second video released by Cook County Sheriff's Office captures the intense moments leading up to the capture. In the video, the victim appears to have been forced behind other inmates, away from the glass doors and deputies.
Moments later a sheriff's deputy can be heard saying, "He just stabbed him again. He just stabbed him in the leg."
The situation escalates as another sheriff's deputy shouts, "Why are you doing that? Why are you doing that?"
Then with a loud explosion, the Emergency Response team clad in riot gear storms the housing unit and takes custody of the two inmates.
There were no injuries to the staff or the other 15 detainees housed in Division 10.
Stevenson faces felony charges of forcible detention, aggravated unlawful restraint, aggravated battery, criminal damage to county property, mob action and possession of contraband in a penal institution.
He was previously convicted of residential burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle, robbery, retail theft and possession of marijuana, prosecutors said.
Alvarado faces felony charges of aggravated unlawful restraint, aggravated battery, forcible detention, mob action and possession of contraband in a penal institution. He has a prior conviction for reckless conduct.
Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. on Monday set bail for each man at $1 million.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
