Four Vista Medical Center East employees were beaten, one nearly robbed and another thrown to the ground and repeatedly punched, by a woman who prosecutors say attacked them for no reason outside the Waukegan hospital.
The Waukegan Police Department responded on August 14 to Vista Medical Center East, 1324 North Sheridan Road in Waukegan, for a report of a female causing trouble.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Nicholas Shepherd said the 911 caller gave a description of the woman.
Another 911 call was received that the same woman had started hitting employees of the hospital with an umbrella.
Officers arrived and talked to the first victim, who said she was walking into the hospital from the parking lot to start her shift, Shepherd said.
The suspect, later identified as Whitney T. Jamison, 34, of Waukegan, approached the worker and started yelling at her.
The worker reported that Jamison demanded she give her the umbrella she had been carrying, Shepherd said.
Shepherd said Jamison then snatched the victim’s glasses off her face and started striking her in the face.
Jamison attempted to forcefully grab the victim’s purse to steal it but was unsuccessful, Shepherd said.
A second employee at the hospital saw the attempted robbery occur and attempted to intervene and help his co-worker.
Shepherd said Jamison then began hitting the male worker and threw an unknown object at him, which struck him in the forehead. He suffered a cut.
A third employee, who saw what was happening and also tried to help, was struck multiple times in the face and body with the umbrella by Jamison.
Jamison walked into the hospital afterward but was immediately escorted out by the Director of Critical Care, Shepherd said.
She was escorted to a bench outside of the hospital by security, Shepherd said.
Officers learned there was also a fourth victim who was walking into the hospital to pick up her paycheck when Jamison grabbed her, threw her to the ground and started punching her in the face multiple times.
All four victims are employees at Vista Medical Center East.
Jamison was charged with attempted robbery, a Class 3 felony, and four counts of aggravated battery in a public place, a Class 3 felony.
“The defendant attacked multiple employees of Vista East, who she has no connection to, in public, and attempted to take victim one’s purse from her in the commission of this crime,” Shepherd said.
Court records show Jamison has well over a dozen arrests in Illinois and Indiana in her criminal history for a litany of different offenses.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Jamison pending trial, which was granted by Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim during a detention hearing.
“This was an unprovoked attack on multiple people,” Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Dino Katris said during the hearing.
Katris said Jamison has a history of not complying with court orders and has high scores on her public safety assessment of re-offending.
A public defender for Jamison filed a motion seeking the court to find a bona fide doubt as to her fitness to stand trial and a fitness evaluation was ordered. She has been deemed fit to stand trial.
Jamison remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday for a preliminary hearing.