- Credibility:
NEAR NORTH SIDE — A judge ordered a man accused of attacking someone on the CTA Red Line with a hammer earlier this week held on a $350,000 bond at a hearing Wednesday.
Around 6 a.m. Tuesday, Curtis Tyler, 30, hit a 50-year-old man in the head with a hammer while riding a Red Line train in the 1200 block of North Clark Street, police said. Officers took Tyler into custody in the 900 block of West Belmont Avenue in Lake View.
“For the people in Chicago and Cook County [the CTA] holds a special place in the law,” Cook County Judge Mary Marubio said during a virtual bond hearing Wednesday.
Specifically, charges for crimes that happen on CTA property are “typically enhanced” due to the special nature of public transit and people’s expectation of safety when using it, she said. The victim also experienced laceration wounds from the attack that required staples, Marubio said.
Tyler is facing felony charges in the Tuesday attack that include aggravated battery and the use of a deadly weapon, according to police.
In addition to the felony charges related to Tuesday’s hammer attack, Tyler is also facing other charges in “almost a dozen other incidents that are similar to this one” over the past month and a half that included at least one instance of public masturbation caught on surveillance footage, Marubio said.
During the bond hearing, prosecutors also alleged Tyler identified himself in the surveillance footage of Tuesday’s attack.
“Bonds in your past have been significant as well, in excess of $300,000,” Marubio said. “You’re also going to be placed on electronic monitoring as a special condition of bond, should you be able to close.”
During the hearing, Tyler tried to speak as the judge issued the bond amount but an attorney and the judge told him to be quiet. His next court date is Sept. 21.
Earlier in the day, CTA employees at the 95th Street Red Line stop picketed to demand better safety measures. Five hammer attacks have been reported in the last month, according to CBS2.
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