Chief judge warns of random Loop attacks as accused man walks free under cashless bail system he supports – CWB Chicago

Prepare dinner County Chief Choose Timothy Evans, a number one supporter of Illinois’ cashless bail legislation, took the weird step Thursday of warning court docket workers about two males accused in downtown “Loop Puncher” assaults—even because the bail system he helped create prevents a kind of males from being detained.

Whereas we’ve been reporting for years on males who randomly assault girls in Chicago, the subject is heating up this week because of a few movies circulating on-line.

The interior security memo contained arrest histories and mugshots of Derek Rucker and William Livingston, with the label “VIOLENT TENDENCIES” printed in purple as a caption for every man’s main picture. Evans stated the court docket’s safety companies workplace ready the so-called facecards “in response to rising issues over current bodily assaults within the Loop, involving suspects known as ‘Loop Puncher.’”

Rucker, 37, was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly struck a 23-year-old girl behind the pinnacle on the Loyola Crimson Line station. He was charged with two counts of misdemeanor battery and launched with directions to indicate up for court docket on October 30.

Evans’ profile of Rucker says he has 38 arrests and 18 convictions, and famous police reviews present a “repeated historical past of punching strangers.” It goes on to say he’s “colloquially identified on [social media] as ’The Loop Puncher.”

However misdemeanor battery is just not a detainable offense below Illinois’ cashless bail system, and Rucker is free pending trial. Underneath the previous bail system, a bond court docket choose might have set a excessive bail quantity to maintain Rucker in custody. Not any extra.

The second flyer launched by Evans profiled Livingston, saying he’s a “felony gang member” with 29 arrests, 20 convictions, and a number of threats to police on his report. CWBChicago has beforehand reported extensively on Livingston, and our unique reporting final month in regards to the newest assault he’s accused of committing was shortly picked up by almost all the metropolis’s company information retailers.

In his memo, Evans advised workers he launched mugshots and histories of Rucker and Livingston “to extend situational consciousness and help your private security,” including, “your security stays our high precedence.”

Mid-afternoon on Thursday, we requested Evans’ workplace how he squares the choice to warn workers about Rucker together with his enthusiastic help of the cashless bail legislation that will have put Rucker again on the road. We haven’t heard again but, however we’ll let you understand after we do.

Final month, Evans misplaced his bid to stay chief choose, a place he has held since September 2021. Circuit judges voted 144 to 109 in favor of Choose Charles Seashore, who beforehand spent years setting money bail for newly arrested defendants at twenty sixth and California. Seashore will take over as chief choose on December 1.

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