Two women attacked and robbed an 88-year-old Uptown resident as she walked home from the grocery store, prosecutors say, and one of them allegedly attempted to rob an Uber Eats driver less than an hour before.
According to court documents, the incident began at 2 p.m. on January 21 when Martinique Holloway, 40, entered a restaurant in the 4500 block of North Sheridan Road where a 63-year-old Uber Eats driver was awaiting an order.
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Prosecutors say Holloway started smoking inside and begged the cashier for $5, claiming she was pregnant. When the employee declined, she turned to the Uber driver and made the same request, according to the detention petition. After the driver ignored her request, Holloway allegedly grabbed the phone and attempted to leave.
Holloway allegedly punched the victim in the head and face several times while she was attempting to get her phone, but the driver eventually regained it before she fled.
According to prosecutors, about 40 minutes later, at 2:40 p.m., an 88-year-old area resident was walking home from Aldi with groceries when she came upon Holloway and 34-year-old Nemieka Horton on the sidewalk outside Sonic, 1022 West Wilson Avenue.
Prosecutors believe that one of the women tripped the elderly victim, hurling her into surrounding bushes. As she lay on the ground, one assailant restrained her while the other took her pocketbook, which was draped around her shoulder.
According to authorities, the woman originally assumed she was being helped up before realizing she was being held down. An attacker began beating her in the face and kicking her in the side, yanking her handbag so hard that the strap snapped. The two women walked away, leaving the 88-year-old on the ground, according to the petition.
The victim was unable to stand quickly because her legs were crossed, but she eventually got up and attempted to pursue the attackers from a distance. She retrieved a bank envelope that had been in her purse. It had held $100 but was now empty. She discovered her purse on the street, with her wallet missing. A kind Samaritan assisted her in calling the police.
According to prosecutors, the woman had hospital treatment for significant bruises on her left leg, bruising under her right eye, a bruised rib cage, and pain in her belly and chest as a result of being kicked. The detention petition states that, in addition to her bodily injuries, she is very distressed and ashamed over the attack.
Officers on patrol last Thursday afternoon observed Horton and Holloway wandering around the neighborhood and recognized them from an internal advisory disseminated by detectives working the case, according to a Chicago Police Department report. In the 88-year-old’s attack, both were charged with robbery and aggravated battery of a victim over the age of 60. Holloway faces an extra robbery allegation as a result of the confrontation with the Uber Eats driver.
Judge James Costello kept Holloway pending trial, but denied the state’s custody plea for Horton, releasing her with orders to remain away from the 88-year-old victim, according to court records.
Holloway has a lengthy criminal history, including jail sentences for attempted carjacking and narcotics in 2005, aggravated battery inflicting substantial bodily harm in 2009, robbery in 2016, and criminal damage to property in 2024, according to court records.
