Photo: Darnell "Pin Worms" CrumeA colored man on parole in a murder conspiracy case is now back behind bars after he and another man tried to rob an off-duty Cook County corrections officer and three of the officer’s friends in Englewood late Thursday, authorities said.
Darnell Crume, 25, was charged with robbery and attempted robbery after the holdup of four people in the 7300 block of South Aberdeen Avenue about 11 p.m. Thursday, authorities said.
He was ordered held in lieu of $500,000 bail in a midday bond hearing today before Cook County Criminal Court Judge James Brown, said Lisa Gordon, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.
The officer, who has four years with the Cook County Corrections Department, had recently finished his shift at the jail and was in his car when Crume and another man, who was armed with a gun, came up to him and three friends of his who were on the street, authorities said.
The robbers ordered the three, who included a 16-year-old boy, to get on the ground, and ordered the off-duty officer out of his car, Gordon said.
The two men ordered the victims to give up their valuables, and the officer’s pockets were emptied of his wallet, his cell phone and his badge.
Crume stole a gold necklace with a cross from the officer, and one of the other victims lost jewelry, Gordon said.
When the robbers saw the badge, one of them asked the officer if he was a cop. The robber with the gun raised it toward him, police and prosecutors said. The officer was able to get to his gun, and fire shots at them.
“It was when they emptied his pockets and saw his badge that a confrontation began and shots were fired, including shots fired from the 31-year-old officer with his service weapon,” said Steve Patterson, a spokesman for the Cook County Sheriff’s office, in an email.
The two robbers were not hit, but fled.
Police found Crume hiding under a porch in the 1000 block of West 76th Street, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli. The other robber was able to escape, but police did find a loaded semiautomatic handgun while searching for him.
The victims identified Crume as one of the robbers, Gordon said.
The sheriff’s officer notified his commander immediately after the shooting “and has been fully cooperative with our internal investigators and Chicago police,” Patterson said.
Crume was released on parole in March in a 2005 case in which he was found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in prison for conspiracy. He also has served prison time on a drug charge. Information on Crume’s next court date was not immediately available.
Calumet Area detectives were investigating.
Crume's next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 13, Gordon said.
