Prosecutors say a man committed an unprovoked violent attack on a Metra conductor and then repeatedly punched a second Metra conductor who tried coming to the aid of the first in Waukegan.
Jonathan Raygoza, 28, of Chicago, was charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, two counts of aggravated assault on a transit employee, resisting a peace officer and obstructing a peace officer.
The Waukegan Police Department responded on October 27 to the Metra station at 95 Spring Street in Waukegan for a call of a battery.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Dino Katris said officers learned Raygoza got onto a northbound Metra train at the Winnetka station and got off at the Waukegan station where the route ends.
A Metra train conductor was also exiting the train to end his shift.
He was talking to someone else on the platform when Raygoza shoulder-bumped the conductor.
Katris said the victim turned around to ask Raygoza why he did that when Raygoza stepped forward at the conductor.
Raygoza began punching the conductor in the face, causing him to lose a tooth, Katris said. The victim fell to the ground and possibly lost consciousness.
A second Metra conductor witnessed the attack and attempted to intervene.
The conductor tried pushing Raygoza off the first victim but Raygoza began punching the second conductor in the face multiple times, Katris said.
The second conductor fell to the ground and could not get back up.
Officers arrived and bystanders directed them to Raygoza, who was walking on the sidewalk.
Katris said Raygoza fled through the parking lot and was eventually apprehended, leading to an officer suffering an injury.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Raygoza pending trial, calling him a real and present danger to the community.
Raygoza was on parole at the time of the incident for another aggravated battery case that occurred in Lake County in 2022. He also has numerous other battery charges in his criminal history.
Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak granted the petition and ordered Raygoza held in the Lake County Jail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 28.