In Third World America Public Transportation Is a Nightmare.
Panhandler who regularly works CTA Green Line arrested 178 times
Clarence Ervin had panhandled on CTA trains all night, and he looked like it.
Cold and bleary-eyed, he said he was afraid of getting caught — a surprising sentiment for a man who has been arrested 178 times, according to police and court records.
Ervin, 52, has amassed charges ranging from panhandling on trains and disorderly conduct to drug possession and assault and battery, the records show.
He is a source of widespread fear among riders on the Green Line between the Loop and Oak Park.
“Clarence is not a bad guy,” Ervin said, speaking sympathetically in the third person, as he exited a Green Line train at Laramie on Wednesday and boarded another going in the opposite direction to continue begging for — and demanding — money. “He got a raw deal. He’s homeless. He’s a United States Marine disabled veteran, and he needs help. He don’t want to get in more trouble.”
…
Ervin rarely shows up for his court dates. Officials dropped charges against him in more than 130 cases. When cases are not dismissed Ervin has been convicted, often in absentia, about 25 percent of the time.
…
“Look what this one lady just gave me,” he said to a Tribune reporter, showing a handful of quarters. “I need it for my babies. Three dollars for a gallon of milk. That’s $6 for two gallons and $12 for four gallons.”
The woman he approached, traveling with a young boy, did not appear to make a voluntary donation. She held the boy close to her as Ervin bent down and hovered inches away. She exhaled, noticeably, and muttered in Spanish to the boy when Ervin moved on to the next passenger.
…
“One issue we are dealing with is the small number of chronic nonviolent offenders frequenting the CTA system,” Drew said. “In addition to arrests, the department will be working with the CTA and the judicial system to prevent these offenders from accessing CTA property.
…
“Most judges are reluctant to house guys like this (in jail),” Perez said.
…
“He is very aggressive about just getting in your face. And if indeed he is on medication, as he says, I worry that he might go further with his intimidation when he is not on his meds,” Dennis said.
Related posts:
February 5, 2010 - 7:40 pm
The Green Line is the nigger train–I’m surprised he got busted at all, unless he was going into the Loop where an actual Human might get on. Ride any of those trains lines around 1:00 AM and the real fun starts.
February 6, 2010 - 4:44 am
The niggers work all the lines. The Red Line is their favorite haunt to work the shell games in teams, or whatever game. They’ve usually got 1 guy running the game and 2 “bystanders” that will help him make losers pay up. Meanwhile there are 2-4 more looking to pickpocket you while you watch the game.
February 18, 2010 - 3:36 pm
Handcuff em and throw his subhuman ass into an empty swimming pool with a 20ft hungry anaconda in it ,put that on jewtube and you’ll have something