Second Arlington Heights teen charged in attack caught on tape
A second Arlington Heights teen is facing felony charges in connection with this month's beating of a Chicago high school student that was captured on video and broadcast widely on YouTube.
The 15-year-old boy was arrested Monday night and joined his 16-year-old brother in a Cook County juvenile courtroom Tuesday morning on charges of robbery, aggravated battery, theft and mob action stemming from the Jan. 15 assault in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood. They also face misdemeanor battery and theft charges.
He is the eighth teenager charged in with the attack in which a 17-year-old Curie High School senior was repeatedly punched, kicked, sworn at and robbed of shoes and his wallet, according to a graphic video making rounds on the Internet.
George Sarikos, the attorney for the older Arlington Heights teen, later said it's his understanding the boys' mother moved them to the suburbs after they were attacked by a large group in late October. That altercation was referred to in a police department news conference last week as a possible motive for this month's attack.
“That wasn't recorded and put on YouTube,” said Sarikos. “The alleged victim in the January incident might have been involved.”
Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Sarah Karr read from detectives' reports in court that another boy used the 16-year-old Arlington Heights boy's cellphone to video the Jan. 15 beating.
She said three of the teens told police they devised a plan to attack the victim, who was lured to the alley where the assault took place by a 15-year-old girl who also is charged.
Police said the three identified many of the perpetrators on the video.
The older Arlington Heights boy, who police said was identified by the victim in a lineup, is the only juvenile suspect with previous contact with the justice system, authorities said.
A year ago in March he was charged with battery and bodily harm, said Karr, but the victim never responded to the state's attorney and the charge was dismissed.
“It went nowhere,” Sarikos said.
His younger brother was identified on the video by a co-defendant, said Karr. Both boys attend Buffalo Grove High School, authorities said.
Seven of the eight teens are charged as juveniles, and as a result are not being named by the Daily Herald. The eighth defendant, 17-year-old Raymond Palomino of the 3500 block of South Hoyne, Chicago, is charged as an adult and remains in custody on $100,000 bond on four felony and two misdemeanor charges.
All except the Arlington Heights boys live in Chicago, and all who appeared on camera were masked except Palomino.
After an initial court appearance last week, the teens had been released to their parents. On Tuesday, however, Judge Terrence Sharkey ordered them taken into custody until each could be fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet and then rereleased on home detention. the process could take as long as three days, a defense attorney said.
Attorneys had urged Sharkey to release the teens to their parents, arguing that most, including the 16-year-old Arlington Heights boy, were honor students.
Sharkey said they would wear the monitors and be allowed to go only to their homes and school at least until the next court date, March 2.
“This was a planned-out attack on an individual,” the judge said. “A hooded planned attack. The individual hurt was taken by ambulance to the hospital. They are a threat at least to that individual.”
Sharkey's other restrictions included forbidding the teens from using their cellphones.
The boys' mother said “no, I'm sorry” when asked if she would talk with a reporter after the hearing. Sarikos said she was “distraught.”
Sarikos also said the victim's injuries could have been a lot worse than “cuts and bruises” if seven people had been determined to do serious damage.
“I'm not minimizing the jumping of a boy. It's horrendous. But he has no broken bones,” he said.
Sarikos said the Arlington Heights boys are still in school. Miles said she could not comment on an individual, but District 214 students charged with crimes would probably not be suspended if they had no connection to the school.