CHICAGO – A Venezuelan migrant has been arrested on a security charge, his thirteenth arrest in a year, after he allegedly tried to rob a woman of her bicycle in Streeterville.
A 43-year-old woman intervened when she saw Santiago Josue Baragas Rodriguez, 19, using a rock to try to break the lock on her electric bicycle in the 400 block of North City Front Place, according to a Chicago police report. When she tried to get her bike back, Rodriguez swung the rock, punched and struggled with her, the report said.
Police said a witness jumped in to disarm Rodriguez and detain him until officers arrived.
Judge Caroline Glennon-Goodman granted the state’s detention request, noting that Rodriguez already has three felony cases pending and has been arrested 11 times in Chicago this year. Yet, the judge wrote, “he continues to commit crimes against citizens in Chicago.” The three pending cases all involve shoplifting allegations.
Cook County court records show Rodriguez has been arrested 13 times since Nov. 1, 2023. Prosecutors dropped most of the cases even though Rodriguez did not appear in court.
On May 20, a Macy’s employee accused him of shoplifting at the 111 North State store. He was in custody at the time for allegedly shoplifting from Nordstrom Rack, 101 East Chicago, on May 3. Both cases were dismissed.
He was arrested on April 4 for trespassing for allegedly refusing to leave the Northwestern Memorial Hospital parking garage. Prosecutors dismissed the case on June 11.
According to court records, he had better luck when he failed to appear in court three previous times:
Rodriguez failed to show up for a case on May 16 in which he was charged with assault and criminal trespass in the Loop. Prosecutors dropped charges in his absence because the alleged victim also failed to show up.
He failed to show up for a case on March 7 involving shoplifting charges from Home Depot, 4555 South Western Avenue. Prosecutors also dropped that case.
He failed to show up for a shoplifting case on December 12, 2023 in which he was accused of stealing two pairs of shoes from Nordstrom Rack, 24 North State. Once again, prosecutors dropped the charges because the store did not send a representative to the court.
