A Cook County judge approved a plea deal that allowed a man accused of robbing another driver during a road-rage confrontation to escape prison time, although prosecutors claimed the robbery occurred while he was wearing an ankle monitor for a gun case.
Robert Bray, 35, of Evergreen Park, was charged in September 2023 with felony unlawful use of a weapon. According to court records, he was freed on electronic monitoring after paying a $500 deposit on September 17, 2023, the last day that Illinois courts set cash bail.
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According to prosecutors, Bray was still wearing the ankle monitor when he was involved in a minor traffic accident at 4 p.m. on January 2, 2024, in the 100 block of East 47th Street.
According to authorities, Bray exited his vehicle and forcefully attacked the other driver, a 29-year-old man, threatening and demanding money. Prosecutors claim Bray took the victim’s phone and then directed his passenger to steal the victim’s Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Prosecutors said Bray’s passenger followed the directions and drove away in the SUV. Meanwhile, the state alleges that Bray threw the victim against a wall and suffocated him.
According to authorities, video cameras at the Chicago Police Department captured footage of the confrontation and Bray’s license plate. Investigators also used ankle monitor location data and the victim’s identification of Bray in a photo lineup to make the arrest.
Bray was charged with vehicular hijacking, among other offenses.
However, he recently negotiated a plea agreement with prosecutors. According to court documents, Bray pleaded guilty to robbery and unauthorized use of a firearm by a felon. Judge Pamela Stratigakis sentenced him to six years for the robbery conviction and three years for the gun charge, to be served consecutively.
According to Illinois Department of Corrections records, Bray was freed the same day he arrived in detention to fulfill his sentence, after receiving credit for time previously spent in jail and on electronic monitoring, as well as the state’s normal 50% sentence reduction.
Bray’s criminal record includes a five-year prison sentence in 2017 for aggravated battery on a peace officer and a 30-month sentence in 2021 for aggravated unauthorized use of a firearm. In 2019, a jury acquitted him on a related felon-in-possession gun charge.
