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Sex Offender Charged in Floral Shop Stabbing

Alexander Hampton ordered held on $500,000 bond

By Ivanna Hampton

| Wednesday, Feb 22, 2012 | Updated 3:52 PM CDT

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Sex Offender Charged in Floral Shop Stabbing

Alexander Hampton

A violent sex offender was ordered held on $500,000 bond after being charged Tuesday in connection with last week's stabbing of a Wicker Park flower shop employee.

Alexander Hampton, 24, of the 3300 block of West Douglas Boulevard, was charged with armed robbery and using a dangerous weapon for the incident at Asrai Garden floral shop, 1935 W. North Avenue, last Thursday, said police.

Hampton was also charged with failing to register as a violent sex offender. He was arrested Monday by the Fugitive Apprehension Unit and charged after a lineup, police said.

Hampton is accused of entering the North Side floral shop and allegedly handing a female employee a note announcing a robbery, according to police. The pair got into a struggle before Hampton allegedly picked up a cutting tool and stabbed the woman in her arm and head, said police.

The woman locked herself inside a bathroom, and the robber started banging on the door with a mop handle, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The robber got away with cash from the register and an iPod, said police.

The woman received treatment at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital that day for her non-life threatening injuries.

A preliminary hearing for Hampton was scheduled for March 12, said Cook County State’s Attorney’s office spokesman Andy Conklin.