After being arrested for allegedly robbing a Family Dollar store in Albany Park and assaulting the cashier on Saturday morning, Alphonso Talley claimed to Chicago police that he had ingested baggies of drugs.
According to CWB Chicago, this was a familiar story Talley had told officers at least three other times since 2017. Veteran cops suggest each incident was a fabricated attempt to secure a hospital stay instead of jail time.
While in custody at Swedish Hospital over the weekend, two seasoned Chicago officers oversaw Talley as he prepared for a CT scan. As one officer removed his handcuffs for the procedure, Talley retrieved a 10-millimeter handgun from beneath his blanket and fatally shot Officer John Bartholomew, 38, in the head, as stated by prosecutors on Monday.
The 26-year-old, who is a seven-time felon, then allegedly turned the gun on Bartholomew’s 57-year-old partner, a veteran of 21 years on the force, shooting him in the face. The second officer remains in critical condition.
Talley reportedly fired a shot to break a hospital window, jumped through it naked, and fled into the Lincoln Square area. Officers located him over an hour later in the 2600 block of West Carmen, where they reportedly recovered the firearm used in the shooting.
Prosecutors have not disclosed how Talley acquired the gun. However, federal prosecutors charged a suburban woman on Monday morning with falsifying paperwork to purchase the firearm in May 2024, claiming she did not use illegal drugs and intended to be the gun’s final owner.
She reportedly confessed to ATF agents investigating the shootings that her then-boyfriend, a convicted felon, financed the gun purchase. At the time, she was allegedly addicted to fentanyl. There is no connection between the woman and Talley, who was reportedly in Cook County Jail when the gun was bought.
Court records indicate Talley escaped electronic monitoring in March during pretrial release for armed carjacking and robbery. The Illinois Department of Corrections lists him as a parole absconder while on supervised release for vehicle theft and assaulting a correctional officer. His criminal history includes firearm possession as a felon and four aggravated robberies.
Talley faces numerous charges related to Saturday’s events, including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated armed kidnapping, and multiple counts of aggravated battery, among others. Judge Luciano Panici Jr. ordered his detention on Monday.
Following the announcement of charges, CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling described the incident as “a stark and heartbreaking reminder of the dangers our officers face all too often on this job.”
“Though this does not bring solace to this tragedy, it does bring the first step in accountability,” Snelling stated, expressing gratitude to officers who swiftly apprehended Talley and detectives who secured charges. He urged Chicagoans to support the family of the fallen officer and to keep the injured officer in their prayers.
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