It should have been an Armed American story.

It wasn’t though.

Three feral savages – teenagers all of them – broke into a 77-year-old woman’s apartment and set about beating her and stealing her valuables for nearly an hour Saturday morning.  And then they broke into the second apartment in the house and began stealing stuff from there, waking a 23-year-old female.  The 23-year-old was darn lucky she didn’t get gang-raped by the trio.

The elderly woman in critical condition with broken bones, eight or nine loose teeth and bleeding on the brain.

The hoodlums fled in the 77-year-old’s Honda Accord, and one of the brain surgeons was so stoned he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed the car.  The thugs grabbed as much loot as they could carry and fled on foot, only to be caught by cops.

At their bond hearing, the attackers’ relatives were present, some crying.  Yeah, Lil’ Earl, Tracie, and Eli won’t be breathing fresh air for a long, long time.  At least ten years, given Illinois prison time is like dog-years in reverse.

Folks, if you don’t have a gun and the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to use it, you might be the next victim of a Chicago-style home invasion.

Chicago Tribune image
The three monsters.

Chicago (DNA Info) –  The 77-year-old woman who was attacked during a “brutal” home invasion early Saturday has broken bones, bleeding to her brain and eight or nine loose teeth, prosecutors said Monday.

According to authorities, three men broke into her first-floor apartment about 5 a.m. Saturday.

For the next 45 minutes, the trio stole jewelry, coins and a TV — and brutally beat and kicked the woman any time she made noise or called for help, Assistant State’s Attorney Erin Antonietti said during a bond hearing Monday.

Tracie Towbridge, 19, Lilearl Taylor, 19, and Eli Ruff, 18, have been charged with home invasion, burglary and criminal trespass to a vehicle.

But on Monday, Antonietti said the state may upgrade those charges to include attempted murder.

“They brutally attacked a 77-year-old woman,” Antonietti said as she petitioned for the men to be held without bail. “Every time she tried to speak up and speak out, they attacked her further.”

Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. ordered each man held in lieu of $2 million bail. Several of the alleged attackers’ relatives cried as they left the courtroom, but declined to speak with media.

According to prosecutors, the attack started early Saturday when Towbridge, Taylor and Ruff — all of whom live on the South Side — rode the Red Line northbound to Wrigleyville. There, they walked around looking for someone to rob, Antonietti said.

The group settled on a two-flat home in the 3600 block of North Magnolia Avenue, prosecutors said.

The men tried to lift several windows before finding one that wasn’t secured, according to Antonietti. Taylor and Ruff hoisted Towbridge into an enclosed porch area, and Towbridge let the other two inside the building, authorities said.

When the trio spotted the 77-year-old victim, who was awoken by the noise, they allegedly knocked her to the ground. Antonietti noted that the woman relies on a cane to get around.

Among other items, the group stole keys to the victim’s Honda Accord, prosecutors said. The men allegedly loaded her TV, jewelry, coins and other belongings into the car before heading to the building’s second-floor apartment.

Two women, ages 23 and 24, live there, according to Antonietti.

The 24-year-old woman wasn’t home that evening, but her roommate heard noises coming from the 24-year-old’s bedroom about 5 a.m., prosecutors said. A short while later, someone entered the 23-year-old woman’s bedroom. She had been awoken by the strange noises and saw a hand holding a cellphone as a flashlight, Antonietti said.

The woman then heard a series of footsteps running down stairs, according to prosecutors. She tried contacting her roommate and the 77-year-old victim, to no avail, and then called 911.

According to prosecutors, the men stole an iMac desktop computer, a keyboard and several computer cords from the second-floor apartment.

At that point, Towbridge, Ruff and Taylor drove off in the 77-year-old woman’s Honda Accord. As they headed south on the Dan Ryan Expy., prosecutors said. Ruff, who was driving, fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a concrete embankment.

All three men grabbed stolen goods and took off running. Police, who had been called to the area to investigate an unrelated shooting, were told to watch out for three men with a backpack, Antonietti said. When the officers spotted Taylor, Towbridge and Ruff, one of them happened to be carrying a backpack.

Police were able to arrest the trio just before 7 a.m. Saturday in the 6700 block of South Perry Avenue, according to court records.

Towbridge had what appeared to be blood on his shoe, Antonietti said. Taylor was carrying three rings, several coins, a screwdriver, white gloves stained with blood, two cell phones and a document that listed the 77-year-old victim’s name and address.

Police later found a bloody footprint in the first-floor Lakeview apartment, as well as a hammer that was believed to be used a burglary tool inside the second-floor apartment, Antonietti said. The hammer did not belong to the victims.

Towbridge admitted to the home invasion and attack, and described each man’s role, according to prosecutors.

Towbridge, of the 11500 block of South Lafayette Street, is currently on parole for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, prosecutors said. He has a pending felony case in Wisconsin for driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent. According to his public defender, Towbridge works odd jobs and has two children.

Taylor, of the 6700 block of South Perry Avenue, has no publishable adult criminal history, prosecutors said. His public defender said Taylor works as a furniture mover, has two children and is a graduate of Harper High School.

Ruff, of the 7300 block of South Damen Avenue, has two pending misdemeanor cases: one for criminal trespass in the 3600 block of North Janssen Avenue, and one for obstructing identification. He was discharged from juvenile parole in August, prosecutors said. He works as a mover and attends Excel Academy, according to his public defender.

22 thoughts on “HOME INVASION, CHICAGO-STYLE: 77YO woman suffers broken bones, 8 loose teeth, bleeding on the brain from home invasion trio”
  1. They will plead this down to some misdemeanor and be back on the streets terrorizing helpless people again.
    I honestly don’t give a damn where or if they work or how many offspring they have, they are feral animals and deserve to be put down. Society has no place for this kind of sub-human trash.
    And as for the relatives crying as they left the courtroom, were they upset the hoodrats didn’t make it home with the loot? They should be ashamed of the useless trash they brought into this world and didn’t have the decency to raise correctly. You know with honor and compassion for others, with a work ethic, and especially some modicum of respect for the law, much less themselves and others.
    They should never see the light of day without it being filtered through prison bars and their families should be held responsible for their victims medical bills, relocation expenses, and the replacing of every bit of property stolen from both victims.

    1. Go fuck urself and ur comments about raising kids! You urself know nothing about me nor my childs up bringing. Feel free to contact me via email and we can meet face to face so i can totally put ur ass in place about my life and upbringing if my son!

  2. “Furniture mover,” otherwise defined as taking what’s in your house and moving it to mine.

    1. think of furniture mover as someone who when he delivers whatever is also looking around… the elderly are especially vulnerable. out of need they must call in outsiders for help. know the people you allow into your space.

  3. The problem in America isn’t law-abiding gun owners.

    The problem in America is inner-city blacks who subscribe to the criminal culture. Instead of education and hard work, they prefer smoking weed and stealing. They have no decency.

    I just hope they aren’t back out in a year or three.

    1. Ah yeah,they may be locked up for only a few years but their homies will gang rape them the first night,I know a ni66er that was just like them and he has to wear a colostomy bag for the rest of his life because he was gang raped to the point that his asshole had to be sewn up.The reason most ni66ers wear baggy pants is to hide their colostomy bag,most people don’t know that.When ni66ers go to prison,even when they were friends on the outside,they turn on each other,they murder and rape just like on the outside except the only victims they have is each other,ni66ers are genetically prone to violence and don’t care who they commit violence against,most of them have and will rape their own mother,sister,ect.,ect.

    2. Go fuck urself and ur comments about raising kids! You urself know nothing about me nor my childs up bringing. Feel free to contact me via email and we can meet face to face so i can totally put ur ass in place about my life and upbringing of my son! Which you know nothing of. How mighty the pen is behind ur closed doors! When its time be face to face with ur culprit,or his parents the real true form of ur cowardness will show in ur eyes. The day we meet!!!!

    3. Go fuck urself and ur comments about raising kids! You urself know nothing about me nor my childs up bringing. Feel free to contact me via email and we can meet face to face so i can totally put ur ass in place about my life and upbringing of my son! In Which i know for a fact! You know nothing of. How mighty the pen is behind ur closed doors and in the protection of ur own 4 walls! When its time be face to face with ur culprit,or his parents the real true form of ur cowardness will show in ur eyes. The day we meet!!!!

  4. I’d hold my head in shame if they were related to me.

    Then I’d disown them.

    Goddamn savage beasts. Their parents failed them. Badly.

    1. Parents? You’re cracking me up! These feral animals were conceived for one reason and that’s a welfare check.

  5. The bleeding on the brain means a neurosurgeon will have to open her skull to evacuate the resulting collection of blood. If she gets an infection (not uncommon), at her age, she may live out her days in a nursing home. Part of the story we probably won’t hear. I’m sure these fine young men are very concerned for their victems’ welfare.

  6. This is just a taste of what is coming this year. The politically and media fueled attack on law enforcement has created a monster that no one will be prepared for. There will be no safe neighborhoods, these animals will go where the prime victims are, where you are. They are cowards by nature, attacking in numbers or by surprise with a weapon. Be aware of your surroundings, prepare yourself with training and the proper tools. Vote these Democrats out of office and put someone in who will hold people accountable for their actions. Make people work for a living, no more free handouts. That’s the fastest way to reduce crime. Stop paying them to do nothing and they will leave and go to a state that will.

  7. My wife was pretty upset when she saw the details of this.

    “If that was my grandmother, I would personally hunt them down and kill them.”

    I wouldn’t bet against her, either.

  8. U wouldnt do shit!!!! Sounds good on this website and to the people reading this. But ur a coward by posting what u wud do insted of doing it. Real bad boys move in silence. Cuz talk is cheap. Thats y i stated what u wanna know meet me face to face at any starbucks. Mr. Big talk

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