Crime & Safety

Fight Erupts In Store, Injuring a Pregnant Woman and Three Others

Information is supplied by the Niles police department. An arrest does not indicate a conviction.

A fight disrupted Wednesday evening shoppers at Walmart in the 8500 block of Golf Road, according to Niles police. One woman was robbed and three  women, including one who is seven months pregnant, were injured in the incident. Two of the victims were taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital for treatment after the fight, which attracted a crowd of onlookers.

Police charged both Porscha Hamilton, 19, of Evanston, and Christopher Lawson, 25, of North Clark Street, Chicago, with theft and two counts of battery.

Victim #1, a 23-year-old Chicago woman, told police she was sitting in the store's restaurant area and noticed Hamilton sitting nearby and Lawson walking near the cash registers. Victim #1 got up to leave the area, realized she had forgotten her purse, and returned to find her purse missing.

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According to the report, Hamilton then walked up with the purse to Victim #1 inside the store, saying, "My boyfriend took this, I would like to give it back." Victim #1 checked the purse and found $50 cash, four credit cards and four social security cards (for herself and her children) missing. Victim #1 started talking to Hamilton about the missing items, and Hamilton pulled the four Social Security cards out of her pocket and returned them to Victim #1.

Victim #2, a 33-year-old Chicago woman, said she had witnessed Hamilton in an aisle searching through a purse. She addressed Hamilton and said, "I saw you with her purse and taking items out of it. Why don't you just give it back?"

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At that point, Hamilton allegedly punched Victim #2 on the right side of her face with a closed fist. Victim #2 fought back, ending up with a red mark and slight swelling on her face. Niles Fire Department paramedics treated her.

As police investigated, they discovered two more victims had been injured. Victim #3, a 29-year-old Des Plaines woman who is seven months pregnant, had been pushed down during the fight and injured her ankle and back. Victim #4, a store employee, was allegedly thrown to the ground by Hamilton and sustained a shoulder injury.

When police arrived and tried to handcuff Hamilton, Lawson started yelling at the officer in an aggressive manner. The officer, in order to protect himself, placed a hand on Lawson's chest and pushed him back. Lawson tried to pull Hamilton away from the officer as the officer was trying to handcuff her. When backup officers arrived, Hamilton was handcuffed and the parties were separated.

Store security downloaded video of the incident to be placed into police evidence.

Hamilton and Lawson have their court dates Jan. 11 in the Skokie branch of the Cook County courts.

Information is taken from reports. An arrest does not indicate a conviction.

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