Three charged in West Chicago revenge stabbing
Bail was set Wednesday for three men charged in a West Chicago stabbing that prosecutors said was revenge for a gang-related shooting earlier this month.
Logan Baker, 19, of Geneva; Mario Hightower, 25, of Wayne; and Christopher Kinney, 19, of West Chicago, each face felony mob action charges. Hightower and Kinney also were charged with unlawful use of a weapon.
Authorities identified all three suspects as members of the Latin Counts street gang. They attacked the victim, a rival gang member, shortly before 9 p.m. Monday on the 300 block of Wilson Street, according to prosecutors.
Assistant State’s Attorney Steve Knight said Hightower set the violence in motion when he punched the victim after a short verbal confrontation.
Kinney then stabbed the unarmed man in the chest, Knight said.
The victim was taken to Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, where he was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening and released. Authorities said the suspects were arrested after the victim identified them in a photo lineup.
Knight said Baker, who has been charged additionally with aggravated assault of a peace officer, brandished a knife at police when they took him into custody at his home on the 1000 block of Manchester Course. Hightower, of the 4N100 block of Locust Avenue, had a 7-inch hunting knife on him when he was arrested, Knight said.
Authorities are investigating whether either knife was used in the stabbing.
In bond court Wednesday, prosecutors linked the attack to a July 2 shooting on Blakely Street in a residential area of West Chicago. In that case, reputed gang member Juan Calderon, 15, of West Chicago, has been charged as an adult with shooting a man in the shoulder.
“The stabbing was apparent retaliation,” Knight said.
DuPage County Judge Elizabeth Sexton set bail at $200,000 for Baker, $75,000 for Hightower and $50,000 for Kinney, who lives on the 100 block of East Geneva Street. The trio was ordered to have no contact with gang members if they bond out.
Authorities said Hightower in May finished a term of conditional discharge for resisting a police officer and in June completed a period of probation for aggravated battery and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
Baker has a juvenile record, while Kinney has no criminal history, according to prosecutors.