3 men charged in attack on CBS News Chicago crew; pointing gun at people in Brighton Park

The three men who attacked our CBS News Chicago crew near Adler Planetarium before pointing a gun at people in Brighton Park on Monday afternoon have been charged. 

Jon Twist, 37, was charged with one felony count of a hate crime and one felony count of criminal damage to property. He was also charged with one misdemeanor count of resisting an officer.

William Huerta, 41, was charged with one felony count of fleeing and attempting to elude officers. He was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of aggravated assault of a state of Illinois employee,  one misdemeanor count of reckless driving, and leaving the scene. Huerta was only charged for the incident in Brighton Park. 

Rafael Salinas, 29, was charged with one felony count of aggravated battery to a peace officer and one felony count of criminal damage between $10,000 and $100,000. He was also charged with misdemeanors of reckless conduct and resisting police.

The incident began just before 4:30 p.m. on the 900 block of East Solidarity Drive.

As our reporter and photographer were preparing for a live shot during the 4 p.m. newscast, three men in a white tow truck approached and parked directly in front of the news van.

The crew and the two witnesses said one of the three men got out with a dog and then moved aggressively towards the crew while shouting racial slurs targeted at the photographer. 

The man then ordered the dog to attack. However, the dog did not obey that command. 

"They just were trying to do anything they could to scare them unnecessarily. It came out of nowhere," one witness said.

Another witness who watched the incident unfold described the dog as a German Shepherd. He said he and his wife tried to diffuse the situation but backed down when the photographer hit the attacker with a folding stool, but the attacker was not affected.    

"And he swung it and hit the guy in the head. And he was unfazed. Like, he got hit hard by that chair. For good reason, and it didn't even, like, flinch him, and I think he hit him again, if I remember correctly, he hit him again and he's still unflinched, and I'm like, this guy is, like, he's on something. He's gotta be," he said.

Two of the attackers then smashed the windshield of the news van with a parking cone and damaged the camera before leaving the scene. 

The reporter and photographer were not hurt.

Chicago police, less than half an hour later, located the men and the truck in Brighton Park, where they said the men were pointing a weapon at people on the sidewalk. 

They were taken into custody after crashing into a police squad car. The gun was also recovered.

At last check, the dog got loose, and police have not said if it was found. 

CBS News Chicago learned Twist had previously pled guilty to aggravated kidnapping and served time for that and for a rogue towing scam for preying on vulnerable accident victims. He also has an order of protection against him for threatening to burn his a woman's house down.

Huerta had previously been charged with attempted first-degree murder before that charge was dropped, and he was sentenced to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for aggravated battery with a firearm. 

Lastly, Salinas had an active warrant against him filed in May for fleeing from police after a hit and run.

All three have been previously accused of using tow trucks to commit further crimes.

They are scheduled to appear at a detention hearing on Thursday.