A man with a violent criminal history has been sentenced to 4½ years for knocking a man unconscious on a Red Line train in the Loop.
Joshua Savado, 34, pleaded guilty to aggravated battery causing great bodily harm in exchange for the sentence from Judge Shelley Sutker-Dermer, court records show.
Late on October 11 last year, Savado and the 53-year-old victim were on the same Red Line train car when Savado screamed for the victim to “get the f**k away” from his bike, prosecutors alleged in a court filing. A few minutes later, Savado “screamed that he had told [the victim] to get the f**k away from his bike and that this was his f**king train,” the document continued.
Camera footage from the train car showed Savado striking the victim in the face without provocation, knocking him unconscious, prosecutors said. Savado continued to attack the victim as he lay “defenseless” on the floor of the train, prosecutors said.
When the train arrived at Lake Street, Savado allegedly dragged the victim’s body onto the platform and then returned to the train car and continued his journey.
The victim suffered four facial fractures and had to undergo surgery to repair his eye, prosecutors said.
Savado’s sentence will be reduced by 50% for good behavior. With credit for the time he spent in jail pending trial, he is expected to be paroled on January 12, 2026.
Savado’s previous arrests include:
- A misdemeanor battery charge after he allegedly punched a 56-year-old Jewel employee in the nose at the company’s 550 North State location on May 13, 2023. He received a sentence of 15 days time served on May 30.
- A charge of misdemeanor battery was filed after a 36-year-old man accused him of grabbing him by the shirt, pushing him away, and stating, “What you gonna do? What’s up?” at Chick-fil-A, 177 North State, on September 11 last year. Prosecutors dropped the case a month later.
- On September 22, 2015, he was accused of slapping a 66-year-old man in a wheelchair in Rogers Park, hurling a vase at the victim and his caretaker, and engaging in a physical altercation with the arresting officers. He pleaded guilty to a single count of misdemeanor battery a year later in exchange for a two-day jail sentence, according to court records.
- Prosecutors said he battered a 23-year-old victim and took the man’s wallet at the North-Clybourn Red Line station in September 2015. He pleaded guilty to robbery in 2016 and received a five-year prison sentence from Judge Charles Burns.
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Tim Hecke is CWBChicago’s managing partner. He started his career at KMOX, the legendary news radio station in St. Louis. From there, he moved on to work at stations in Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City. Tim went on to build syndicated radio news and content services that served every one of America’s 100 largest radio markets. He became CWBChicago’s managing partner in 2019.
His email address is tim@cwbchicago.com
