Second man charged in dollar store robbery before deadly Swedish Hospital shooting
A second man was charged in the armed robbery of a Family Dollar store that led to last weekend's shooting at Swedish Hospital, which left one Chicago police officer dead and a second critically wounded.
Jeron Tate, 18, was charged with four felony counts, including armed robbery and battery, for the incident at a Family Dollar in the 3200 block of West Lawrence Avenue on April 25.
Prosecutors said 18-year-old Jeron Tate locked the door of the Family Dollar store on the 3200 block of W. Lawrence, while his co-defendant, Alphanso Talley, brutally beat a cashier in the face with a gun, breaking her nose.
Tate then took $110 from the register along with the cashier's keys and wallet.
Prosecutors said, as Talley and Tate were captured on multiple surveillance videos leaving the store, what they didn't know was the money they'd stolen had a GPS tracking device.
Data from that device led police to a location where Tate had ditched the jacket he was seen wearing on video while committing the armed robbery. Inside the pocket, the victim's keys were found. Police were also able to use facial recognition technology to identify Tate from surveillance footage. Two detectives familiar with him identified him from prior armed robbery arrests.
After he was arrested for the robbery at the Family Dollar, Talley claimed to have ingested drugs, and was then taken to Swedish Hospital, where he allegedly pulled out a gun from beneath a blanket, shot Chicago police officer John Bartholomew and his partner, and then stole a hospital worker's badge to escape. Talley was arrested in a nearby backyard.
After the shooting, Bartholomew and his partner were taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where Bartholomew was pronounced dead. His partner remained hospitalized on Thursday, but his condition has improved, and he has been up and alert, and able to respond to questions using body cues.
Meantime, prosecutors revealed Tate has a lengthy juvenile record.
In October of 2022, he showed a gun to a gas station worker and threatened to shoot them. The incident was captured on video. Tate was arrested half an hour later.
Between April and October of 2024, prosecutors said Tate was charged with retail theft and criminal trespass to property, and armed robbery with a firearm at a store. He was released on electronic monitoring. When he couldn't be located, an arrest warrant was issued for Tate.
On Jan. 4, 2025, prosecutors say he committed five crimes in one day, including a carjacking and numerous armed robberies at a Walgreens, a Subway, a 7-Eleven, and two Family Dollar locations. Two days after those crimes, Tate didn't appear in court, and another warrant was issued. He was eventually sentenced to 18 months juvenile detention and later released and put on parole.
It's unclear if Tate will face additional charges in connection with the shooting death of Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew and the shooting of his partner at Swedish Hospital after the Family Dollar robbery.
Police said Tate admitted minimal involvement in that robbery, but video evidence contradicts that. At his detention hearing on Friday, a judge called Tate a danger to the community and ordered him to remain behind bars until his next court date.
A visitation will be held for Bartholomew next Thursday, followed by a funeral on Friday.
