A 19-year-old man who carried out a sequence of armed robberies aboard CTA trains final yr, then used a sufferer’s telephone to summon an Uber trip so he may violently carjack the driving force, has been given an 18-year jail sentence for these crimes.
Jeremiah Burns pleaded responsible to 2 counts of theft in trade for concurrent 18-year sentences handed down by Decide William Gamboney. The decide additionally imposed a consecutive four-year sentence for prison harm to authorities property, a cost tied to a hearth Burns allegedly set whereas in custody.
Officers stated Burns and two 17-year-old boys “terrorized” the Blue Line for greater than per week in March 2025 earlier than seven caseworkers accustomed to Burns acknowledged his picture in CTA surveillance footage.
Burns was on parole for a previous theft when the crime spree started round 11:48 a.m. on March 12 aboard a Blue Line prepare at Kedzie. In accordance with a Chicago Police Division report, Burns wore a masks as he took a 28-year-old lady’s telephone whereas his accomplices beat her.
Simply earlier than 1 a.m. the next day, Burns allegedly robbed a 38-year-old man of his pockets on a Blue Line prepare close to the Western station in Tri-Taylor. He’s additionally accused of taking a telephone from the pocket of a 25-year-old man in the identical prepare automobile.
Detectives later recovered surveillance video exhibiting Burns decreasing his masks and exposing his face, which led to his identification in these robberies, police stated.
On March 20, Burns and the 2 juveniles allegedly robbed two Whitney Younger Magnet Excessive Faculty college students on a Blue Line prepare close to Racine at about 9:10 p.m. Prosecutors stated one of many teenagers was armed with a gun because the group took a pockets and an AirPods case from a 17-year-old boy, together with a pockets and telephone from a 16-year-old lady.
Investigators once more obtained clear pictures of Burns after he lowered his masks whereas leaving CTA property, officers stated. Later that evening, the group struck once more close to the Western station. Police stated one of many 17-year-olds, armed with a gun, approached a 19-year-old man seated on the prepare and took his pockets, whereas the opposite juvenile took the person’s telephone.
Burns allegedly eliminated gadgets from the sufferer’s pockets, threw it again at him, and searched him for extra valuables. He discovered an AirPods case and handed it to the armed confederate, based on the police report.
Afterward, Burns and the 2 juveniles used one of many Whitney Younger college students’ telephones to order an Uber to the 3600 block of West Grenshaw Avenue, the place Burns lived, prosecutors stated. When the automobile arrived at a neighboring residence, the trio allegedly attacked the driving force, beating him with handguns and knocking out his enamel earlier than taking management of his Honda Pilot.
Along with the town robberies and carjacking, Burns additionally pleaded responsible to a diminished cost of mob motion in reference to a theft in Cicero, receiving a two-year concurrent sentence from Decide John Wilson. Prosecutors dropped expenses in three extra instances as a part of the plea settlement.
With credit score for time served and different components, Burns is scheduled for launch on March 10, 2037.
