Erinn Broadus on March 6, 2023
Chicago, IL A nine-time felon was arrested again, this time for allegedly threatening to bash in the head of a 16-year-old girl who was headed home from school on the train on Feb. 21, according to CWB Chicago.
Lijah Graham was arrested for aggravated battery just two months after getting out of prison for a similar crime, CWB Chicago reported. Graham has an extensive criminal record, including a previous charge for unlawful restraint that required him to register as a violent offender.
On Feb. 21, a 16-year-old girl was on the L-stop platform on her way home from school when Graham allegedly exited his train and began yelling at her. He allegedly then struck the girl on the shoulder and threatened to “bash her head in,” CBS Chicago reports. She was able to get away from him by hopping on the train, and police arrested Graham this week for aggravated battery of a transit passenger and failure to register as a convicted violent offender, according to CWB Chicago.
This is hardly Graham’s first arrest. In 2020 he was arrested for beating and robbing someone who was trying to advocate on behalf of a homeless man. The victim was continuously beaten and kicked in the face until Graham and an accomplice dragged him across the train and robbed him, according to CWB Chicago.
Graham was sentenced to five years for aggravated battery after the 2020 incident on the train, but he was released on Dec. 23 after serving less than half of the sentence, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
During his 2020 bail hearing, Graham was deemed a 12-time convicted felon with 15 misdemeanor convictions, but prosecutors this week said he only had nine previous felony convictions. Graham failed to show up to court over 30 times, CBS Chicago reported.
He also failed to register as a violent offender against children, which he was required to do after a 2013 unlawful restraint conviction. In addition to unlawful restraint and aggravated battery, Graham has also been charged with five narcotics offenses, according to data from the Illinois Department of Corrections.
The judge in the most recent case ordered a $50,000 D-bond, meaning he must post $5,000, wear electronic monitoring if released and has been ordered to not commit any crimes on public transit or face being returned to jail, CBS Chicago reported.
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