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Reason given by judge for releasing man with 72 previous arrests before he allegedly set fire to woman on Chicago train
A man who is accused of setting a woman on fire on a Chicago train was reportedly released by a judge in August despite prosecutors fighting for him to be jailed.
On Monday, Novembr 17, a horrifying incident was caught on train security cameras as 26-year-old Bethany MaGee was set alight as she traveled on a CTA Blue Line train.
Lawrence Reed, 50, is accused of suddenly dousing MaGee with gasoline before using a lighter to set her ablaze, according to authorities.
The young woman, who was a former honors student, has been left fighting for her life from her extensive injuries.
According to reports from the New York Post, Reed had faced a judge in a separate assault case in August but was released with an electronic ankle monitor, despite prosecutors warning that it would not be enough to protect the community from him, per CWB Chicago.
Cook County Judge Teresa Molina-Gonzalez had freed Reed on a felony aggravated battery charge for allegedly slapping a social worker so hard that she was knocked unconscious on August 19, inside the psychiatric ward of the MacNeal Hospital, court records show.
According to Illinois’ Pretrial Fairness Act, defendants can not be held in jail unless they are charged with a felony and meet a series of criteria, including having a criminal history, posing a risk of endangering the community or being a flight risk.
Despite Reed having over 70 prior arrests, and prosecutor Jerrilyn Gumila's warnings in court that electronic monitoring would be “wholly insufficient," he was allowed to leave with an ankle monitor.
CWB Chicago reports that a transcript of the August 22 hearing in a Maywood court shows Gumila told the judge: "It could not protect the victim or the community from another vicious, random, and spontaneous attacks."
She described how Reed was allegedly seen on the surveillance footage losing his temper as the social worker spoke with him inside the locked ward, adding: "[He] became irate and slapped the victim in the face with an open palm.
"Her vision went black, and she lost consciousness for several seconds. One of the victim’s co-workers rushed over and helped the victim walk down to her office, and the victim was then taken to the emergency room."
The social worker was left with a cut on the cornea of her eye, possible bruising of the optic nerve, nausea as a result of concussion, memory loss, and a chipped tooth, per the prosecution.
Gumila also referred to Reed's extensive criminal history, including a 2020 arson conviction for setting a fire outside a Chicago building, telling the judge: "The defendant poses a real and present threat to the safety of, especially this victim, whoever else was working in the hospital that day, and the community as a whole.
"The defendant randomly and spontaneously became irate in this situation where the victim was just attempting to do her job as a social worker, and now as a result, suffered injuries so severe that she still has side effects on a daily basis."
Reed’s lawyer, Nicholas Yannias, stated that Reed's behavior was a result of his 26-year battle with mental illness, which made him "paranoid", adding that Reed had been treated at the same hospital for 17 years and had since resumed the correct dose of his medications following the assault.
The lawyer added: "Mr. Reed needs services, he does not need to be incarcerated for being mentally ill and acting in accordance with his mental illness."
According to court records, the judge told Gumila: "I understand your position, but I can’t keep everybody in jail because the state’s attorney wants me to, but I understand and respect your position."
Reed was ordered to stay away from the hospital unless he had "a medical emergency" and was told he would be under electronic monitoring "because of your ridiculous criminal history and lengthy criminal history."
While the state’s SAFE-T Act permits defendants with electronic monitoring to leave home 16 hours a week for “essential” activities, the judge granted Reed permission for him to leave for a total of 40 hours a week, and on September 12, Judge Ralph Meczyk approved Yannias’ request to allow Reed to leave for different hours to "be able to do church activities," the outlet reported.
The charge against reed was upgraded to felony aggravated battery less than a month later on September 17 for the assault on the social worker, but he pleaded not guilty.
According to court papers filed on Wednesday regarding the alleged attack on MaGee, Reed had reportedly violated his curfew a handful of times in November, including on the day of his attack.
Court records show that he had stayed out past his curfew time on November 9, 12, 13, 14, and 15, as well s Monday, with some of these days sparking an "escalated alert".
On Friday, Reed was ordered to remain behind bars following the horrifying incident on the train, and has been charged with federal terrorism among other counts.
He agreed to stay behind bars, telling the judge that he doesn't "feel safe in society", per the New York Post.
The defendant added: "I’m a target from society. I don’t feel safe out there. I think for my safety, it’s best for me to be detained."
Federal prosecutors have argued Reed should be held without bail, citing his 72 arrests and 15 convictions, including one for starting a fire in April 2020 when he poured two red cans of liquid near the window of the government’s Thompson Center building in Chicago and lit a fire.
He did not serve any time for that incident and was only sentenced to probation, according to reports.