Editor’s Note: The video in the above player is from a previous report.
New details emerged on Thursday regarding the attack on a CBS Chicago news crew earlier this week that led to a police chase and resulted in three men facing a range of charges.
The attack happened around 4:25 p.m. on Monday in the 900 block of East Solidarity Drive, just outside the planetarium while a CBS Chicago reporter and photographer were preparing for a live hit in their newscast, the news station said.
Police announced on Wednesday that 41-year-old William Huerta of Chicago Ridge, 29-year-old Rafael Salinas of Chicago and 37-year-old Jon Twist of Chicago are each facing several charges in connection with the attack. All three appeared in court on Thursday for a detention hearing.
Prosecutors allege one of the CBS employees saw a white tow truck pull up alongside where their CBS work van was parked on the north side of Solidarity Drive. The CBS employee continued to watch the truck because he thought their van was potentially about to be towed and saw a man, later identified as Twist, exit the tow truck with a German shepherd dog. Twist then walked toward the CBS employees and “unleashed” the dog, prosecutors said.
Twist then approached a member of the CBS news crew in an “aggressive manner” and yelled the racial slurs repeatedly at them, prosecutors said. He then asked the CBS employee if he was scared before ordering the dog to attack. When the dog did not agree, Twist then kicked the dog before “aggressively” approaching the other CBS employee and asking them if they were scared too, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said at that point, the news crew member who was first approached was in fear for their life and the other picked up a foldable lawn chair and struck Twist. Twist and the dog then chased the crew member who was first approached.
Then, Salinas ran from the tow truck to where the crew had been standing before he picked up their camera equipment and threw it to the ground, prosecutors said. The estimated damage done to the equipment is over $100,000. After throwing the equipment, Salinas continued to get closer from the news crew members, who jumped down onto a sidewalk near the lakeshore to get away from him. They then called 911, prosecutors said.
Salinas and Twist eventually returned to the tow truck and fled the scene, prosecutors said. One of the news crew members said they heard glass breaking before the men fled and found the front windshield of their news truck shattered when they returned. The estimated cost of replacement is over $1,500, prosecutors said.
Video captured by an NBC Chicago photographer at the scene after the incident showed camera equipment on the ground surrounded by police tape, and heavy damage to the van’s front windshield.
After Chicago police arrived at the scene, a description of the vehicle was circulated. An officer on patrol saw a car matching the description traveling westbound on West 43rd Street and recognized it as being the same as one that was also named in an alert about a previous assault with a weapon in Daley Park.
Officers observed the driver of the tow truck, later identified as Huerta, traveling at a high rate of speed, disregarding traffic signals and driving into on-coming traffic, prosecutors said.
Police then activated their emergency lights and began to pursue the tow truck driven by Huerta. He blew through multiple stop signs and break-checked officers during the pursuit, causing them to rear-end the tow truck, prosecutors said. The pursuit then continued and Huerta again slammed on his breaks before placing the tow truck in reverse and driving towards the officers, who then began to fear they would crash again, prosecutors said.
The tow truck driven by Huerta continued to flee until it crashed into a concrete poll in an alley on the 3600 block of South California, prosecutors said. Huerta, Twist, Salinas and an unidentified fourth person all exited the tow truck and fled on foot. However, Twist, Huerta and Salinas were soon after taken into custody by police.
Before apprehending Salinas, officers chased him on foot and gave verbal commands to stop running. Salinas then slapped a uniformed officer in the face with an open hand, prosecutors said.
A loaded rifle was found on the ground by the passenger door of the tow truck after the suspects fled, police said.
Huerta, Twist and Salinas were all ordered to remain in custody and will make their next appearance in court on July 8.
Twist is facing one felony count of hate crime, one felony count of criminal damage to property and one count of resisting or obstructing a peace officer.
Huerta is charged with one felony count of fleeing and attempting to elude, two counts of aggravated assault of a State of Illinois employee, one count of reckless driving, one count of leaving the scene of a crime, and various traffic citations, police said. Salinas is facing one felony count of aggravated battery of a peace officer, one felony count of criminal damages, one count of reckless driving and one count of resisting or obstructing a peace officer.
Prosecutors also detailed their past criminal history, including that Twist has served 7 years in jail for an aggravated kidnapping in 2006, and served two years of probation in 2018 for possession of a stolen motor vehicle and then another two years for the same crime in 2022. Huerta previously served six years for aggravated battery with a firearm in 2003 and 30 days for a misdemeanor possession of cannabis charge in 2010.
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