CTA Assault Case Shows Transit Gun Ban Disarms Victims, Not Criminals
October 19, 2026
A Cook County case involving a 25-year-old repeat offender named Devon Jones is the latest example Bearing Arms points to in arguing that Chicago's "gun-free" transit policy leaves law-abiding riders defenseless while doing nothing to stop violent predators.
Key points
- The attack: Jones allegedly assaulted a pregnant woman in a CTA tunnel connecting two train stations, struggling with her over her purse before fleeing with her iPad on a bicycle.
- The record: Jones had prior convictions including unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated battery of a peace officer, and was on electronic monitoring with an active arrest warrant at the time of the attack.
- The sentence: CWB Chicago reports Jones took a plea deal for 10 years, which under Illinois' day-for-day credit could amount to roughly five years served; prosecutors also dropped a weapons charge.
- A related case: Bearing Arms notes a CTA janitor was stabbed to death at the Damen Green Line station by another ankle-monitored repeat offender whose probation revocation had reportedly been sought multiple times and denied.
- The policy critique: Bearing Arms argues that while Jones wasn't armed in this incident, CTA's weapons ban still disarms law-abiding riders who could otherwise carry for self-defense, while doing nothing to stop offenders already willing to break the law.
Quick take
The piece isn't really about Jones' particular weapon, or lack of one. It's about a system that can't keep tabs on offenders wearing GPS monitors but still insists that licensed, law-abiding riders check their self-defense options at the turnstile. That's the contradiction Bearing Arms wants Chicago to reckon with.