Mother of Chicago train robbery suspect ‘drags him to police station’

A Chicago student who allegedly robbed a train conductor at gunpoint was turned in to the police by his mother, who had recognized him in news coverage of the robbery.

Zion Brown, 18, was charged with armed robbery for holding a train conductor at gunpoint and stealing about $100 in cash on Tuesday.

Brown was arrested later that night after his mother recognized photos of the masked suspect, caught on surveillance slipping away after the robbery, and drove him to the Calumet City police department to surrender, prosecutors said, according to CWB Chicago.

The details of Brown’s arrest were revealed during his bond hearing, where his private defense attorney argued he was hungry and looking for something to eat.

Brown, a second year student at Loyola University Chicago, reportedly went to class after pulling out a gun and pointing it at the train conductor’s stomach.

His defense attorney asked Judge Maryam Ahmad to remember her own days as a hungry college student when setting Brown’s bail — a request she did not take to heart.

While Ahmad said she remembered being a hungry college student, she said she never considered pulling a gun on someone and taking their money. The 18-year-old was denied bail.

Police for Metra, the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area, said the brazen robbery took place shortly after 2pm as a train was arriving at the Van Buren Street Station in downtown Chicago.

As the train pulled into the station, Brown reportedly pulled out the gun and demanded cash. Surveillance pictures show the conductor standing on the platform with his hands raised above his head while the gunman runs away.

During a police interview, Brown said the weapon he displayed was actually a BB gun, which he claimed to have thrown away in a dumpster afterward. Brown had no prior criminal record. He is expected to next appear in court on March 4.

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