A man with a lengthy history of violent offenses, Frank Barker, 58, is again facing serious legal consequences after allegedly perpetrating a shocking hammer attack on a senior citizen in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood this past summer.
According to prosecutors, the incident occurred on August 20 at approximately 1:48 p.m., when Barker ambushed a 69-year-old male victim who was in the process of unloading groceries outside his residence on the 8300 block of South Green Street.
Barker, who measures 6 feet 2 inches and weighs 260 pounds, reportedly wielded the hammer with “full power swings,” targeting the victim’s head and inflicting “critical injuries, disfigurement, and significant blood loss,” as outlined in a criminal complaint. Disturbingly, despite the ferocity of the assault, Barker did not attempt to rob the victim. Instead, he casually walked to a nearby bus stop, boarded a CTA bus still holding the hammer, and left the scene.
The victim was swiftly transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he underwent emergency medical treatment and received over 60 stitches to address the lacerations on his scalp.
Law enforcement agencies, including Chicago police officers and Barker’s parole officer, were able to identify him through the forensic review of surveillance footage from the area.
During subsequent legal proceedings, Judge Rivanda Doss Beal mandated Barker’s detention on charges of attempted murder, classifying the assault as “a random attack on a citizen for no apparent reason.”
Records from the Illinois Department of Corrections reveal that Barker has spent a considerable portion of his adulthood incarcerated, with his most recent parole occurring on April 17, following the completion of half of a 14-year sentence for robbing an elderly victim. This crime was committed shortly after Barker was released from serving half of a separate 20-year sentence due to multiple robbery offenses in 2008.
Barker’s criminal history is extensive and alarming:
- 14 years for robbery targeting a victim over 60 in 2018
- 20 years for robbery in 2008
- 20 years for unlawful vehicular invasion in 2008
- Three additional 20-year sentences for various robberies in 2008
- Another 20 years for robbery of a victim over 60 in 2008
- 6 years for armed violence in 1997
- 11 years for carjacking in 1997
- 11 more years for carjacking while armed in 1997
- 6 years for armed robbery in 1994
- 4 years for residential burglary in 1989, plus another 4 for a separate burglary that same year
- Three separate 4-year terms for residential burglaries in 1984
Tim Hecke is the managing partner of CWBChicago. He began his journalism career at KMOX, a historic news radio station in St. Louis. Following this, he gained experience at various stations in Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City. Tim later established syndicated radio news and content services that catered to all of America’s 100 largest radio markets. He has been CWBChicago’s managing partner since 2019.
You can reach him via email at tim@cwbchicago.com.
