A judge ordered three men detained after prosecutors said they attacked a CBS News crew Monday afternoon near the lakefront.
The men, wearing the same clothes as the day they were arrested, had their first court hearing Thursday, at which prosecutors asked Cook County Circuit Judge James Murphy to hold them pending trial.
William Huerta, 41, Rafael Salinas, 29, and Jon Twist, 37, are accused of attacking a CBS photographer and journalist who were getting ready for a newscast near Adler Planetarium around 4 p.m. Monday.
As the crew was preparing, a white tow truck pulled alongside the news van.
Prosecutors said Twist got out of the truck with an unleashed German shepherd and approached the photographer. Prosecutors said Twist began yelling racial slurs repeatedly at the photographer and ordered the dog to attack. Twist also asked the photographer if he was “scared.”
The dog then began to circle around the photographer, but when it did not attack, Twist kicked the dog, according to prosecutors.
The photographer then grabbed a lawn chair and hit Twist with it before attempting to get away.
Prosecutors said Salinas then got out of the tow truck and began to approach the journalist. The journalist managed to get away and called 911. However, Salinas then smashed the crew’s camera.
Next, prosecutors said, the men smashed the news van’s windshield before fleeing in the tow truck.
Shortly before the attack, police also had been called about someone seen flashing a gun inside a white tow truck near Maggie Daley Park, police said.
After the attack on the news crew, officers saw the tow truck, driven by Huerta, near 43rd Street and Western Avenue. Huerta was seen speeding and driving into oncoming traffic, according to prosecutors. When officers tried to pull the truck over, Huerta tried to get away, prosecutors said.
Huerta repeatedly pressed on the brakes to cause the officers to crash their vehicle, prosecutors said. Huerta eventually lost control of the tow truck and crashed in the 3600 block of South California Avenue.
Four people, including Twist, Salinas and Huerta, jumped out of the truck and tried to run away, prosecutors said. Officers chased them down and placed the three men accused in the attack in custody, except for a fourth unknown male.
Prosecutors said officers recovered a rifle that was tossed on the ground near the tow truck.
During the hearing, Murphy ruled that all three men posed a threat to the community and would be detained pending a trial.
Twist is accused of committing a hate crime, criminal damage to property and also faces one misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing a peace officer.
Huerta faces felony charges for fleeing and eluding, two counts of aggravated assault of a state employee, one count of reckless driving and one count of leaving the scene of a crime, along with 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 said Salinas also had two active arrest warrants for aggravated fleeing and eluding stemming from two incidents in March.
Salinas will appear in court for the prior arrest warrants on Monday. All three men are expected to appear in court Wednesday in Skokie.