Man Charged In Murder And Robbery Of Elderly Man
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 29-year-old man has been charged with the murder and robbery of an 88-year-old barber, described by those who knew him as a pillar of the community.
WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports Samuel Higgins allegedly was caught on surveillance video as he pushed Arthur Hearn to the ground as Hearn was on his way to work shortly before 5 a.m. on Sept. 25.
Police said Higgins and a woman knocked Hearn down, and Higgins went through Hearn's pockets while the woman watched.
Hearn suffered a head injury, and died three days later.
Higgins has been charged with murder and robbery.
"Arthur Hearn was a great man," said Farrell Wilson, owner of Farrell's Barber Shop, where Hearn's chair sits at the front of the store, draped in black.
"He wanted to be in front. He said he wanted to protect me. That's what he said when he first came here. He said, 'I want to protect you,'" Wilson said.
Wilson described Hearn as a mentor, and "a man's man."
"If there's a better person, I've got to find him. He was truthful," Wilson said. "He couldn't just, like, say no to anybody if they needed some money. He couldn't say it. He would just give it. … Great man, and he is missed."
Wilson said Hearn's solution to the city's violence problem was education.
"He educated all his children, and paid for their tuitions," Wilson said. "He paid for eight kids, so they have no debt."
Hearn's funeral has been scheduled for Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Seals Funeral Home, 8354 S. Marquette Av.