Three Charged With Robbing, Beating UIC Student On CTA Bus

CHICAGO (STMW) - Three teens have been charged in connection with the early Sunday attack of a UIC student who was beaten and robbed aboard a CTA bus near the West Side campus.

Police on Wednesday night announced 18-year-old Akeem J. Manago, 17-year-old Christopher Jackson and a 15-year-old boy have been charged in connection with the robbery after they were identified as offenders with the assistance of CTA video footage.

They're accused of robbing a UIC student aboard a No. 12 CTA bus at 1300 W. Roosevelt Rd. at 12:05 a.m.

The student was sitting on the bus when a group of males got on the bus, according to an alert from the University of Illinois at Chicago police. One suspect struck the student with a glass bottle on the back of his head and took the student's iPod.

And just 25 minutes earlier, a victim was struck multiple times on a CTA bus in the 1300 block of South Racine Street before the offenders got off the bus and fled with a cell phone, an alert from Harrison Area detectives said.

It's unclear whether the three charged were involved in that earlier robbery.

Manago, of the 1200 block of West 14th Street is charged with one count each of aggravated battery in a public place, armed robbery, felony unlawful use of a weapon, as well as misdemeanor counts of firearm without a valid FOID card and possession of ammunition without a valid FOID.

Jackson, of the 4300 block of West Gladys, is charged with one felony count each of aggravated battery in a public place and armed robbery with a dangerous weapon, police said.

The 15-year-old is charged with one felony count each of armed robbery with a dangerous weapon and aggravated battery in a public place.

Jackson and Manago are scheduled for bond hearings on Thursday. Court information for the juvenile was not immediately available.

On Tuesday, police issued a community alert seeking the offenders in the Near West Side attacks.

The offenders were described 8 to 15 young black men between 14 and 20. They are approximately 5-foot-5 to 6-foot-1, 140 to 180 pounds. They were last seen wearing baseball caps, some with braided hair and some with short hair. They were wearing shorts and t-shirts, the alert said.

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