Armed Homeless Man Robbed Teen On CTA Purple Line In Evanston: Cops

EVANSTON, IL — A homeless man accused of robbing a teenager at gunpoint on a CTA train in Evanston last week was ordered held without bond Tuesday.

Darryl Walton, 58, a lifelong Chicago resident, has been charged with armed robbery and armed habitual criminal. Both offenses are class X felonies that carry mandatory minimum prison sentences of at least six years.

Prosecutors decided to file the armed habitual criminal charge due to Walton having two burglary convictions on his record and an illegal gun in his possession when police took him into custody on Sunday, according to Assistant State's Attorney Eugene Goroshko.

Around 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, a 17-year-old boy was riding home from work in a mostly empty car on a southbound CTA Purple Line train when Walton sat down directly across from him, Goroshko said Tuesday at Walton's initial court appearance in Skokie.

At the time, the teen was listening to music on headphones, while his co-workers were talking on the phone on the other end of the train, the prosecutor said.

"[Walton] then pulled out a gun out of [his] pocket and pointed it at the victim," Goroshko said. "[Walton] then put the gun under a duffel bag to try to mask what [he] was doing. [Walton] then demanded that the victim give [him] what he had."

The boy handed over his phone and cross-body bag to Walton and provided his password when asked, according to the prosecutor. When the robber dropped some items from the bag, the teen helped him.

"From what I understand, that 17-year-old complies in spades and gives him literally everything he had on his person, practically," said Cook County Associate Judge Anthony Calabrese.

Walton fled when the train reached the South Boulevard station, and the boy's father later reported the incident to Evanston police, according to the prosecutor. Detectives found some of the boy's property ditched at the stairs below the train platform, but not his phone or debit card.

The next day, Evanston police detectives were able to review CTA surveillance footage and put together a bulletin with photos of a suspect to sent to other law enforcement agencies, authorities said.

Then on Sunday morning, officers on patrol spotted a man, later identified as Walton, wearing the same clothes as the robbery suspect in the bulletin — a Chicago Bears hat and a green jacket with a fur lining, authorities said. They spoke to him and learned of his active arrest warrant, and during a search while taking him into custody, police found a loaded Walther PK380 pistol.

On Monday, police showed an array of photos to the 17-year-old, who identified Walton as the man who robbed him on the train, according to Goroshko.

Calabrese said it was quite plausible that the terrified teen would have remembered the face of someone who had pointed a gun at him from across the aisle of a CTA trail.

"Given that close proximity and the attention he's paying to defendant, it's no surprise, I suppose, that some five days later he is able to identify [Walton] in the photo array as the person who committed this offense," the judge said.

At the time of his arrest, Walton had an active warrant for failing to appear in court on a theft charge and was out on bond awaiting trial on a charge of violation of an order of protection, the prosecutor said.

And Walton's criminal record includes four felony convictions — two for burglary and two for violation of an active order of protection.

In arguing for the judge to order a discretionary denial of bail, Goroshko noted Walton had been out on bond and had a warrant for failure to appear in court at the time of his arrest.

"There are not any conditions that this court could impose that would ensure [Walton's] return to court or protect any person, persons or the community from the defendant," Goroshko said.

Assistant Public Defender Greg Kobus said Walton was homeless, on Social Security Disability Insurance and could provide no phone numbers of loved ones to contact.

Calabrese found that prosecutors provided enough evidence to justify ordering Walton to remain jailed while awaiting trial — that there is evident proof or great presumption that he is guilty of a non-probationable crime and that there are no conditions of pretrial release that could assure he would show up to court and not threaten the community.

In finding Walton a danger to the public, Calabrese noted the "bravado" of the alleged robbery.

"I do believe the state has met his burden," he said.