Man accused of beating, robbing 94-year-old woman denied bail

A man watched as a 94-year-old woman stood outside waiting for her daughter to pick her up for a dentist appointment, then followed her into her Garfield Ridge home to beat her and steal her purse, prosecutors allege.

Bail was denied Sunday for 26-year-old Olajuwon Claiborne, who faces felony charges of home invasion, aggravated battery and robbery in the attack in the 5100 block of South Long.

Claiborne watched from a stolen SUV parked across the street Wednesday as the World War II Navy veteran walked back inside to get out of the cold, Cook County prosecutors said at Claiborne’s bail hearing.

He followed her down the gangway and through the side door of the home, closed the door behind him and started hitting her in the face, prosecutors said.

Her daughter pulled up soon after and made eye contact with Claiborne as he ran out of the house with her mother’s purse and took off in the stolen SUV, prosecutors said.

The elderly woman suffered “debilitating pain” and was taken to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, where she was treated for a possible concussion, a hematoma to her right eye and severe bruising to her head and ribs, prosecutors said.

Claiborne drove about two blocks south and crashed the SUV into a light pole behind a pizzeria in the 5700 block of South Archer, prosecutors said. A restaurant surveillance camera captured video of a man abandoning the car and running away with the purse.

Detectives received numerous tips naming Claiborne as the man in the video, and he was arrested Friday afternoon in the 6900 block of South Harper, down the street from his home in the 1500 block of East 69th Place, prosecutors said.

The woman’s daughter identified Claiborne in a photo lineup, and he pointed himself out in the video while admitting to the crime, prosecutors said.

He also admitted to acting as the getaway driver in a pair of robberies over the summer, when another man punched a 65-year-old woman and stole her purse and car in the West Elsdon neighborhood on July 27; and when another man broke a 32-year-old woman’s glasses while taking her cellphone and tote bag in Marquette Park on July 12, prosecutors said.

“If ever there was a case that demanded no bail, this is the case,” Judge James R. Brown said. “No citizen is safe if Mr. Claiborne is walking in the streets of Chicago.”

The 94-year-old was released from the hospital Saturday, friends said on Facebook. An online campaign to raise money for her hospital bills had raised more than $5,100 as of Sunday afternoon.

Claiborne took business classes at Lake Land College in downstate Mattoon and works part time as a mover and construction worker to support five children, his public defender said.

He has been convicted of robbery, armed robbery and theft in separate cases since 2009, prosecutors said. Claiborne’s next court date is Dec. 16.