Oct 8, 2008 5:47 pm US/Central
Homeless Couple Denies Role In South Loop Attack
CHICAGO (STNG) ―
A homeless couple on Wednesday denied their roles in an August attack that seriously injured a woman in the South Loop.
Derrick King, 46, and Joyce Burgess, 38, pleaded not guilty to one count each of attempted murder, two counts each of robbery and four counts each of aggravated battery before Cook County Judge James B. Linn, according to Andy Conklin, spokesman for the Cook County State's Attorney's office.
Burgess and King are accused of attacking Jen Hall and Joe Hoffman, both 36, as they walked to their South Loop home from a nearby grocery on Roosevelt Road near Wabash Avenue on Aug. 25. The couple had been out celebrating Hall's birthday, they said.
The alleged assailants -- a homeless man and woman -- later identified as Burgess and King, were panhandling near the store when they allegedly confronted the two, police said.
A fight ensued and King allegedly grabbed Hall, threw her to the ground and beat her in the head, knocking out most of her upper teeth and leaving her critically injured. She was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where she was placed in a drug-induced coma for three days.
King and Burgess are being held on $500,000 bond each. They are believed to have taken a Blackberry in the attack, police said.
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2008. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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