CHICAGO, IL – A 20-year-old man who was arrested last summer for reportedly two separate CTA train robberies was handed down an 8-year sentence in court earlier in August following the acceptance of a plea deal which saw one of the robberies completely dropped. Police were able to take the man into custody last summer after the individual’s mother tipped authorities off after seeing her son on the televised CCTV footage of the robberies.
Trequan Jackson Young pleaded guilty to a single count of armed robbery on August 10th in exchange for a plea deal that saw a second robbery from June of 2022 completely dropped.
The first robbery reportedly occurred at approximately 2:26 a.m. on June 6th, 2022, while Young was riding on the Red Line train near 47th Street. Authorities say Young was a among a handful of other men who were riding with the 23-year-old victim at the time of the robbery, which began with one of Young’s cohorts asking the victim if he could hit his vape.
When the victim obliged but asked for the vape back, the man refused to return it, and Young along with the group began to beat on the 23-year-old. Following the beating, Young and the others began to frisk the victim, with one man taking the victim’s wallet. As the victim was trying to call for help on the train, one of Young’s cohorts threatened the victim with a knife.
Chicago Police released the surveillance footage from the incident the following day, leading to Young’s mother recognizing her son in the footage. However, prior to police taking Young into custody, authorities say he committed another robbery at the Roosevelt Station. The second robbery also involved unidentified coconspirators alongside Young, where a victim was violently attacked and deprived of their belongings.
Young was taken into custody days after the original incident on June 20th, which occurred after a federal law enforcement officer happened to have witnessed Young engaged in a domestic dispute with his then-girlfriend at the Jackson Red Line station after he took her cellphone and refused to give it back.
Due to Illinois’ generous parole eligibility criteria, Young will likely only have to serve half of his 8-year sentence, with the individual already harboring over 420 days of credit to his sentence. While an official parole date has not been publicly released, Young could be out as early as summer of 2026 with good behavior.
Gregory Hoyt is a former contributor to outlets such as Law Enforcement Today and Red Voice Media, and current host of The Breakdown with Greg Hoyt. Based out of Sierra Vista, Arizona, Hoyt is a staunch and outspoken advocate of law enforcement and first responders, while also harboring the unique experience of having spent nearly 5 years in prison. Since then, he's used his unique perspective to offer support and commentary about the criminal justice system. When not working or combating bad ideas, Hoyt also leisurely studies economics, history, and law.