College Student's Mom Drags Him To Police Station After Recognizing Him As Suspect In Armed Train Robbery
Moms know best.
Anthony Fomin via Unsplash / Chicago Police No one knows a child better than their own mother — and no kid can keep anything truly hidden from their mom.
This rings true for a Chicago mother who happened to see her son in a news report about an armed robbery of a train conductor in Chicago.
On February 15, 2022, Brown, an economics major at Loyola University Chicago, was reportedly taking the train to class when he realized that he was a little peckish and wanted a small snack before class started. As the train pulled into his station in downtown Chicago, Brown spotted the conductor handling a stack of money and allegedly decided to take action.
Brown allegedly held the train conductor at gunpoint with a black, semi-automatic handgun, which he reportedly later told police was a BB gun, and announced that he was performing a robbery aboard the Metra Electric Line train, stealing $110.
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At a court hearing, it was claimed that this was a crime of opportunity and that when Brown noticed the conductor handling the money, he got pangs of hunger and decided to take the $110 — making off with the money but throwing the weapon away in a nearby trash can.
In the images that were taken after the incident occurred, you can see Brown fleeing the scene with the handgun in tow — leaving the conductor behind him at the entrance of the train car with his hands raised above his head looking away.
He remained on the run all day, going about his usual business until he was at home.
When images of the suspect were released, Brown's mother recognized him and drove him to the police department to surrender.
During a court hearing to decide Brown’s bond, his defense attorney told Judge Maryam Ahmad that the teen committed the crime because he was hungry and needed to eat before class. However, this excuse didn’t work on the judge, who jokes that she was once a hungry student but had never resorted to violence in order to finance a snack, CWB Chicago reported. As such, Brown’s request for bail was denied.
In February 2023, a year after the incident, CWB Chicago reported that Brown pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and was sentenced to two years of probation as well as 56 days in jail, which he had already served by the date of sentencing.
While it likely was not easy for this mom to turn her own son in, ultimately, it may be for his own good.
For parents, deciding whether or not to turn a child in for their crimes can feel like an impossible decision. However, psychologist Vivian Diller, Ph.D., wrote for HuffPost that once a child presents a danger to themselves or others, parents should report them, as this mother did. Facing the consequences may help prevent further crimes.
According to Brown’s apparent LinkedIn page, he was an undergraduate student at Loyola University and would be studying economics set to graduate in 2025. However, it’s unclear whether he remains enrolled in the school after this situation.
The train conductor was unharmed in the robbery, and Brown has no prior criminal record.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.