Three men are facing felony charges in connection with the attack on the CBS news crew near Adler Planetarium earlier this week, officials confirmed late Wednesday.
Rafael Salinas, 29, of Clearing; Jon Twist, 37, of McKinley Park; and William Huerta, 41, of Chicago Ridge, have each been charged with at least one felony count and several misdemeanors in the wake of the incident, according to Chicago police.
Three in custody after CBS news crew attacked near Adler Planetarium
Twist is the only one of the three charged with a hate crime for the attack, during which, authorities previously stated, slurs were shouted at the news crew. Twist has also been charged with criminal damage to property and one misdemeanor count of resisting an officer.
Salinas faces one felony count of aggravated battery to a peace officer and one felony count of criminal damage between $10,000 and $100,000, as well as two misdemeanor counts for reckless conduct and resisting police.
Huerta was charged with one felony count of fleeing and attempting to elude officers. He also faces various traffic citations and several misdemeanor counts for aggravated assault of a state of Illinois employee, reckless driving, and leaving the scene, police said.
CBS did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday night, but previously stated, “We are shocked and horrified by this crime and we are grateful that our journalists are safe.”
The attack unfolded just before 4:30 p.m. in the 900 block of East Solidarity Drive on the Museum Campus. A reporter and a photographer with CBS News Chicago were preparing to go on air when multiple male suspects approached in a white truck, per police and a report from CBS following the incident.
An original call for service indicated that suspects pulled up to a CBS media vehicle and began shouting racial obscenities at a CBS cameraman who is Black, a law enforcement source said.
One of the suspects, after exiting the white truck, directed a dog to attack a 54-year-old man while yelling slurs, police previously stated, citing preliminary information. The dog, however, didn’t attack, prompting one of the suspects to become “irate” and start damaging the 54-year-old’s property by throwing it on the ground, police said.
All suspects re-entered the white truck and fled the scene in an unknown direction, police said.
A few hours after the attack Monday night, a CBS news van could be seen along the sidewalk outside the Adler Planetarium. The van’s windows were smashed and a lone orange traffic cone sat on the hood. An evidence marker had been placed next to the cone. Across the street, camera equipment lay strewn along a section of grass. Police tape had been strung up around the equipment.
After the white truck fled, officers later located the vehicle on police observation device cameras and observed the suspects with the dog near the Richard J. Daley Park boat launch in Little Village, the law enforcement source said.
Beat officers monitoring police radio observed a tow truck matching the description of the white truck near the 4300 block of South Western Avenue, the source said. Police sped up to catch up with the truck. As officers came close, the tow truck slammed on its brakes, causing the squad car to collide with the rear of the truck, the source said. Police activated their emergency lights and a short pursuit ensued, during which the fleeing tow truck crashed into a metal box in an alley near the 3600 block of South California Avenue in the Brighton Park neighborhood, the source said. Those inside the truck then fled on foot.
Three suspects were taken into custody, and a high-powered rifle was confiscated from the truck, the source said.
Twist, Salinas and Huerta are scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
Chicago Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner contributed.
