Antonio Butler, 18, is accused of going on crime spree that included stealing judge’s car, bragging about robberies
Click here for updates on this story
CHICAGO (WBBM) — Police and Cook County prosecutors say Antonio Butler is an 18-year-old carjacker who recently went on a crime spree.
As CBS 2’s Chris Tye reported Monday night, that wild day reportedly included robbing a judge, ramming a handful of police cruisers, and boasting about it all on social media.
Two Fridays ago, prosecutors said Butler orchestrated eight crimes in 12 hours. Before the weekend was over, they said he stole four cars.
As he sits in jail, we put the pieces together of what criminal experts such as CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller call “an exceptional case.”
The case started at 11 p.m. the night prior. Police said Butler stole a 2011 Audi. In the hours that followed, he committed an armed robbery at 3726 W. 16th St. in Lawndale at 4:05 a.m.
Ninety minutes later, detectives said he stole from a car at 823 N. Western Ave. in West Town, and also an hour later from a car at 2401 W. Ogden Ave. on the Near West Side.
Twenty minutes later, he would enter a car and put a gun to the head of a victim at this ATM – taking money and their car. That was at 2215 S. Leavitt St. in Heart of Chicago.
Thirty minutes later, prosecutors said he committed an armed robbery – taking more money and a cell phone on at 4757 S. Marshfield Ave. in Back of the Yards. Ninety minutes after that, they said he took another car from a laundromat at 4328 S. Wood St., also in Back of the Yards.
Two and a half hours later, he is accused of using that car in committing what police said was his last crime of the day – an armed robbery where the victim got away at 801 N. Cicero Ave. in West Humboldt Park.
Butler then went quiet for 24 hours until authorities said police cornered him. He hit two squad cars to escape and went on Facebook Live to credit himself for getting out of that jam – only to make his way to 35th Street and Ashland Avenue, where police said he stole the car of a Cook County judge.
Last Friday, the alleged one-man crime wave ended when Butler was arrested after a car in which he was a passenger in rammed police cruisers in its failed escape attempt.
“You can bet that this will get special attention at the 26th and California from the judge that’s sitting there when they find out one victims is a sitting judge,” Miller said. “They do protect their own.”
The 18-year-old’s rap sheet shows his first carjacking was at age 15 and his first arrest was age 12.
“He didn’t learn from his mistakes,” Miller said. “It didn’t serve as a deterrent. It didn’t serve as punishment.”
His next date with the system experts say failed him is this Friday.
Miller says Butler’s juvenile record can aggravate his adult sentence if he is convicted of these charges. Looking at his past behavior could lead to a longer adult sentence.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
