In a brazen incident at a Millennium Park parking garage, two suburban men were surrounded, threatened, and robbed. Four individuals have been charged, while three others involved are still at large, according to prosecutors.
Ernesto Gayton, 19, from Evanston; Anthony Hernandez, 20, from Chicago; Frank Leal, 23, from Chicago; and Issac Torres, 19, from Cicero, have been apprehended on charges of robbery and attempted robbery. These charges stem from the March 6 incident, as documented in court records presided over by Judge Antara Rivera.
The detention filing reveals that the group targeted a 24-year-old Midlothian man inside the garage at 5 South Columbus Drive. Leal allegedly instructed Hernandez to “show him the gun,” prompting Hernandez to lift his sweater as if revealing a firearm. Feeling endangered, the victim surrendered his chain and earrings. Prosecutors state that Torres and Gayton searched the victim and his companion, a 20-year-old from Harvey, but took nothing from the second individual.
Police reviewed surveillance footage and relayed the suspects’ descriptions to patrol units. A Chicago Police Department bicycle team soon located the four men near Lake and Wabash in the Loop. Officers reportedly recovered the victim’s chain from Hernandez. Prosecutors assert that three additional suspects were involved in the robbery but managed to escape and remain unidentified.
Judge Rivera highlighted that Gayton has a juvenile history that includes a case for possession of a stolen motor vehicle and time served in the juvenile corrections department.
Hernandez is on parole following a guilty plea on January 26 for unlawful possession of a weapon, as court records indicate.
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