Man Punched, Robbed Of Cell Phone At Monroe Street Red Line Stop
CHCIAGO (CBS) -- A South Side man is accused of punching and trying to rob another man while standing on a platform in the Monroe Street Red Line subway stop early Wednesday.
Rizon Brown, 32, of the South Side, was charged with one felony count of attempted robbery after the 27-year-old victim identified him as the suspect, according to Central District police Lt. Robert Lawjewski.
The incident happened at 12:11 a.m. in the Red Line subway near the Monroe station, according to a Central District police captain.
Brown allegedly confronted the victim who was waiting for a train and tried to grab the victim's cell phone while saying: "Give it to me," Lawjewski said.
"He [Brown] started punching him in the head and he fell to the ground," the lieuteant said. Brown allegedly kept punching him while victim was down before fleeing on a southbound train. The victim has been released from Northwestern Memorial Hospital as of Wednesday morning.
No injuries were reported, according to the captain.
An alert on the CTA's website said after the robbery, service was disrupted due to police activity in the area of Cermak Road.
Service on the Red Line later resumed, but residual delays may occur, according to the site, which suggested customers allow for extra travel time in that area.
Multiple incidents have been reported recently of what police are calling "Apple-picking" -- robbing people for their Apple technology such as the iPhone or the iPod – on CTA train stops.
Around 12:40 p.m. Sunday, two teenage boys robbed woman at the Harrison Red Line stop, pointing a gun and stealing the woman's iPhone, police said. One of the boys was cited in a juvenile delinquency petition with theft, while the other was cited with having a pellet gun that looked like a firearm.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
