Beating, Robbery Attempt At Albany Care Sends Man, 50, To Hospital

EVANSTON, IL — An Albany Care resident was hospitalized Wednesday after he was attacked and beaten in a robbery attempt by a fellow resident of the Evanston facility, authorities said.

Artrelle Bailey, 34, was discharged from Albany Care after the attack and ordered held at the Cook County Jail hospital unless he can come up with $5,000 cash.

According to prosecutors, Bailey noticed that a 50-year-old resident had several $10 bills in his pocket as they stood outside the facility at 901 Maple St. and held out his hand, asking for money.

The older man refused, later telling officers that he did not know Bailey and did not owe him any money, Assistant State's Attorney Nic Attia said Thursday at Bailey's initial court appearance in Skokie.

But Bailey kept demanding cash, following the man inside and into an elevator, Attia said.

"The [man] exited the elevator and took the stairs because he was afraid of [Bailey]," Attia said.

The 50-year-old man told staff what was going on, and they advised Bailey to leave him alone. But Bailey responded by punching the man in his neck and chest, knocking him to the ground and continuing to pummel him with closed fists, the prosecutor said.

"The staff member called out a code and tried to break up the fight," Attia said. "A different staff member responded to the code and saw [Bailey] on top of the [man] while he was on the floor, staff members saw [Bailey] put his hands in the [man's] pocket while screaming, 'Where's my money? Where's the money?'"

Before staff could pull him off of the man, Bailey was holding the man's hands down as he searched through his pockets looking for cash, according to the prosecutor.

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Officers reported the target of the robbery attempt suffered swelling and abrasions to his head and was taken to St. Francis Hospital for treatment.

The Cook County State's Attorney's office approved a single felony charge: attempted robbery, a class 3 felony.

Albany Care is one of Evanston's two specialized mental health rehabilitation facilities, or SMHRF. There are a total of 23 such facilities in Illinois as of 2021, according to state public health officials.

People who live there have complained that it lacks sufficient staff and neglects residents. In February 2022, the Illinois Department of Public Health suspended its license, temporarily preventing it from accepting new patients. By early November 2022, it had reached a settlement with state public health regulators allowing it to resume accepting residents.

Bailey, who was ordered to stay away from Albany Care and the man he is accused of attacking, is due back in court April 12 for a preliminary hearing.