Nine-Time Felon Will Do Less Than Five Years for Attempted Sexual Assault in 'Gun-Free Zone'

I'm still salty about the Supreme Court denying cert in a lawsuit challenging Illinois' carry ban on public transportation earlier this year, and I've been keeping a close eye on the violent crimes that are taking place on the "gun-free" buses, trains, stations, and bus stops of the Chicago Transit Authority ever since. Actually, I've been keeping track even before SCOTUS said "no" to Schoenthal v. Raoul, but I think these incidents are worth highlighting given the Court's decision to let the carry ban remain in place.  

A Chicago man was convicted this week of multiple attacks on women on CTA rail cars, and despite six prior felony convictions, 37-year-old Lorenzo Jones will only be spending a few years behind bars for his crimes.

Cook County Judge James Obbish found 37-year-old Lorenzo Jones guilty but mentally ill on Thursday and sentenced him to nine years in prison for attempted criminal sexual assault. Obbish also found Jones guilty but mentally ill in two related cases, imposing concurrent two-year prison terms for aggravated battery of a transit passenger and aggravated battery in a public place.

Under Illinois' good behavior credit system, Jones's nine-year sentence will be cut in half so long as he behaves himself behind bars. Jones will also get credit for any time he spent in jail or on electronic monitoring while awaiting trial. Since the crimes he was convicted of took place in 2023, it's possible that he could be finished with his sentence in just two years. 

In the attempted criminal sexual assault incident, Jones was accused of pleasuring himself on a Blue Line train while staring at a woman. 

Jones then stood up and told the seated woman, “You need to s*** my d***,” according to prosecutors.

“Absolutely not,” the woman responded.

Jones allegedly responded by punching her in the face.

“You need to s*** my d*** or I’ll hit you again,” Jones allegedly threatened.

She refused to comply, and Jones punched her in the face again, prosecutors said. When the woman tried to get away, Jones pushed her back into her seat, blocked her from leaving the train car, and punched her in the face a third time.

The woman screamed for help when the train stopped at a station and reported Jones to two security officers on the platform. However, prosecutors said she left before police arrived because of confusion at the scene.

Well, thank goodness this woman couldn't defend herself with a lawfully carried handgun, right? 

The very next day, Jones allegedly accosted another woman on the Blue Line by grabbing at her crotch and telling her "You better gimme that p**** or I’ll f*** you up."

Prosecutors said Jones then charged at the woman and twice more tried to grab her private area, but she fended him off both times. The woman got off the train at Belmont and called police.

Sadly, Jones is hardly a one-off. CWB Chicago also reported this week on the arrest of a man who's believed to be responsible for at least four assaults on CTA property in recent months, and who was nabbed only after he allegedly assaulted two kids and a camp counselor at a day camp in the Chicago suburbs.

Prosecutors said Gray attacked passengers on CTA L lines on four separate occasions, battering passengers unprovoked before fleeing the scene.

• On May 8, prosecutors allege, Gray punched a 31-year-old man in the face multiple times at the 35th-Archer Orange Line station in a random attack, fracturing the man’s nose and cheekbone and giving him a mild concussion.
• On June 11, prosecutors said, he punched a 44-year-old woman in the back of the head at the Central Park Pink Line station. Chicago police issued a community alert about that attack and asked anyone who recognized the man in surveillance images to contact detectives. The alert generated tips that eventually helped investigators build a case against Gray, prosecutors said, though the attacks continued while the investigation was underway.
• On June 17, Gray allegedly touched a 23-year-old woman’s breasts during a robbery attempt at the Chicago Avenue Brown Line station.
• On June 21, he struck a woman in the face and head with a metal rod on a Green Line train near Kedzie, causing her to suffer headaches and a sore neck, prosecutors said.

Chicago's public transit certainly isn't crime-free, and it's really only "gun-free" in name only. Violent criminals are already carrying in violation of the law, and I suspect that some folks with concealed carry licenses are quietly doing so as well. Those lawful gun owners shouldn't have to risk criminal charges just to protect themselves in a dangerous environment, and though I'm very thankful that SCOTUS granted cert to the lawsuit challenging Cook County's ban on so-called assault weapons, I really wish they had accepted Schoenthal v. Raoul's challenge to another Second Amendment infringement imposed on Illinois gun owners. 

Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

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