Feds: Man shot trying to rob armored car driver in Little Village

Charges have been filed against a man who was shot while trying to rob an armored truck driver Saturday morning in the Little Village neighborhood on the Southwest Side.

Jerry Adams was charged with attempted robbery, and committing and threatening physical violence to a person and property, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court.

Adams tried to rob the driver with a sledgehammer at a currency exchange in the 4300 block of West 26th Street, according to the complaint.

The driver, who works for the Garda armored car service, was making a delivery about 9:25 a.m. at Azteca Currency Exchange when the attack happened, prosecutors said. The driver was carrying $240,000 when Adams, a 33-year-old Chicago resident, ran up and struck them in the upper back and neck area with the sledgehammer.

The driver then turned around and saw Adams, wearing an orange-and-yellow construction vest, picking up the sledgehammer from the sidewalk, prosecutors said.

A witness heard the attack and also saw Adams pick up the hammer and raise it while facing the driver, prosecutors said. The driver then took out a service weapon and fired four to five rounds at Adams.

Adams ran to the corner of 26th Street and Kildare, then headed south on Kildare with the hammer, prosecutors said.

Within five minutes of the attack, police and emergency services responded to 28th Street and Kostner, where they found Adams visibly injured, prosecutors said. He was standing outside a running, green Chevrolet Astro van, with blood stains visible on the driver’s seat.

A hammer was also recovered from inside the van, prosecutors said.

Adams remains at Mount Sinai Hospital and will appear in court following his release, according to Chicago Police and the FBI.