Chicago man charged with attempted murder after stabbing on CTA Green Line

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A judge on Monday ordered a Chicago man to stay behind bars until after his next court hearing, after he was charged with stabbed a man on the CTA Green Line downtown. 

Ivan Weldon, 42, was arrested  and charged with eight felonies, including attempted murder, four hours after the stabbing.

Chicago Police said Ivan Weldon, 42, was arrested by members of the Counter Terrorism Mass Transit Team on Friday evening just before midnight on a Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line platform downtown.

In addition to attempted murder, Weldon was also charged with aggravated battery of a peace officer, three counts of aggravated battery in a public place, two felony counts of aggravated battery of a transit employee, and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm. 

Prosecutors said Weldon stabbed a 48-year-old man at the Garfield Green Line station in the Washington Park neighborhood shortly before 8 p.m. this past Friday, May 31.

In court, prosecutors said the man was sleeping on the train when Weldon approached him with a box cutter—with which Weldon cut the man's face and neck, and his hand.

The man held his arm up and was able to get away, but prosecutors said he needed stitches from his ear down to his neck and on his hand - where he has possible permanent nerve damage.

During the arrest, Weldon spit on the forehead, the top of the head, and the face of a police officer—which led to the battery of a peace officer charge, according to the CPD report. Police also recovered a box cutter from Weldon's hoodie. 

Prosecutors said Weldon had the bloody box cutter on him when he was brought in.

During their investigation, police discovered an arrest warrant for Weldon for an unspecified parole violation. 

Since 1999, Weldon has been arrested 32 times, and most of those cases were dropped. In six of those cases, Weldon either pleaded guilty or was found guilty. Those cases included charges of robbery, aggravated battery, resisting a peace officer, criminal trespass, criminal damage, and battery.

In March, Weldon was sentenced to three years in prison for robbing a 7-Eleven at 48 N. Wells St. downtown in 2021.

In that case, he had already been in prison, so he was placed on parole for one year and released. This case may be connected to his outstanding arrest warrant.

Weldon was disruptive in court for his detention hearing Monday. He cursed, and he walked out at one point as the judge was speaking.

He had to be escorted back in handcuffs by police.

"This last case, there was a fitness trial for him, which means someone thought he was not fit to stand trial," CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller. "I would suspect either the judge, prosecutor, or his attorney is going to ask for a psychological evaluation based not only on his background, but what happened in court today."

Miller said the dancer posed by Weldon is clear.

"He's a danger to the public, but he's even a danger to CTA riders," Miller said, "and I suspect CTA is going to have some kind of watch list—at least I hope so—so if they see him come into the station, they will deny him entry."

If convicted of this crime, Miller said, Weldon likely won't be seen on the CTA or anywhere else in public anytime soon.

"He's looking at some pretty serious time on this case if he's convicted," Miller said of Weldon.

CBS 2 was waiting late Monday for CTA officials to address whether Weldon could be banned from the Chicago transit system - something the CTA has said is an option, but admitted is hard to enforce. CBS 2 also wants to know how the CTA is coordinating with law enforcement to crack down on repeat offenders and make the system safer. 

The CTA did release this statement late Monday:

The Chicago Transit Authority released the following statement Monday:

Today, Ivan Weldon, who is charged with eight felonies, including attempted murder,  received pre-trial detention for a May 31 Green Line stabbing incident. The safety of our passengers is our highest priority, and we are committed to continuing to work closely with our partners at the Cook County State's Attorney's Office and the Chicago Police Department, on this case and to ensure safe environments for everyone who uses the CTA. Criminal activity has absolutely no place on the CTA. And while incidents like this are extremely rare, one incident is one too many.