After five people robbed a woman on a Red Line train in September 2024, Chicago police published CTA security photographs of the suspects and asked the public for assistance in identifying them. In one photo, one of the criminals stared directly at the camera and brazenly extended his middle finger toward the lens. The bird-flipping thief is now flying away to prison, where he will serve a 16-year sentence.
David Mitchell, 19, was on juvenile parole for carjacking and had been adjudicated delinquent several times when he joined four other people, including two juveniles, in robbing a 19-year-old woman aboard a Red Line train near the 69th Street station on the evening of September 28, 2024, according to authorities.
According to authorities, one of the youths displayed a weapon at the woman, and Mitchell and the others demanded her stuff, including her phone, wallet, and backpack. Police immediately identified and detained everyone except Mitchell. To find him, investigators shared CTA surveillance photographs with the media and requested the public for aid. One of the photographs showed Mitchell biting his lower lip and raising his left middle finger toward the CTA camera.
Police quickly identified Mitchell at that point. When detectives detained him, he was carrying a loaded 9-millimeter handgun in his jacket pocket, according to prosecutors. Mitchell allegedly claimed to have “found” the gun in a car.
In addition to the CTA robbery, Mitchell was charged with robbing a lady at gunpoint in the 7400 block of South Euclid Avenue on September 11, 2023.
According to court records, Mitchell has pleaded guilty to all charges. Judge Neera Walsh sentenced him to 16 years for each robbery, three years for the gun offense, and an additional three years for aggravated violence of a peace officer, which he picked up along the way. All sentences will be served concurrently.
Mitchell will receive a 50% sentence reduction for good behavior under Illinois law, and court records show that he was also given 622 days credit for time spent in the Cook County jail. That leaves him with around 6 years and 4 months to serve. What is the good news? There are many surveillance cameras in prison, so he’ll have lots of opportunities to practice his middle finger extensions.
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