Charges have been secured against a 36-year-old armed robbery offender following a months-long investigation.
On September 23, 2025, a 44-year-old male victim related to police that as he was inside the Green Line Cicero station in the 4800 block of W. Lake, two male offenders approached him. The offenders demanded the victim’s belongings. When the victim refused, one of the offenders brandished a firearm and robbed the victim of his cell phone before fleeing the area.
Following this armed robbery, officers inside the Public Transportation Strategic Decision Support Center (SDSC Room) began reviewing video footage from the CTA station. After locating video of the incident and the offenders, SDSC Room officers disseminated images of the offenders to the Citywide Robbery Task Force detectives who are embedded into the SDSC Room to investigate transit crimes.
During their investigation, detectives utilized the video evidence to identify the offender, Johnathan Mason. The Cook County Sheriff’s Police also assisted in identifying Mason. Task force detectives arrested Mason in the 3100 block of W. Flournoy St on December 15 , 2025. He was subsequently charged with one felony count of Armed Robbery with a Firearm. The investigation remains ongoing.
This arrest was the result of the ongoing collaboration between the Citywide Robbery Task Force Detectives, the Public Transportation Section SDSC Room and CPD’s partners at the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department.
So far this month, Public Transportation Section officers in the field and in the SDSC room worked alongside embedded Robbery Task Force detectives to arrest and secure charges against 18 individuals. The arrests were for violent crimes that include Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault, Aggravated Battery, Armed Robbery and Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon.
The updated Public Transportation Section SDSC Room launched earlier this year and has task force detectives embedded inside the room for more streamlined and efficient investigations. This SDSC Room leverages CTA’s vast camera network to track and monitor activity in real-time. Officers inside the room are able to quickly relay information to responding officers and pull video evidence for investigators.
