An 18-year-old man pleaded guilty Monday to theft and aggravated battery for mugging the son of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and stealing his cell phone as the mayor’s wife looked on in the courtroom.
Phillip Payne was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
During the hearing, Payne turned to Emanuel’s wife, Amy Rule, and apologized for what he did.
After Payne apologized to Rule, Cook County Judge Lori Wolfson said, “Phillip is not a violent person.”
Wolfson said she thinks Payne understands “this is the last opportunity he’s going to have as a juvenile.” Payne was 17 when he committed the crime but is now 18.
The judge also expressed frustration when Payne’s public defender told her that Payne had good grades in school.
“You are capable of doing well in your life,” Wolfson told the teen.
Rule shook hands with prosecutors after the hearing but declined to comment as she left the courthouse.
