Alleged Gas Station Robber Yanks Fire Alarm, Disrupts Court: Cops

BRIDGEVIEW, IL -- An accused gas station robber was back in court for pulling the fire alarm while waiting for his bond hearing last month, prosecutors said. Derrick Crayton, 29, of Chicago, appeared before Judge John Mahoney on a felony charge of disorderly conduct. Crayton is currently being held without bond in Cook County Jail for armed robbery.

The day of Crayton’s bond hearing on Aug. 23 at the Bridgeview Courthouse, the fire alarm was set off with alarms and lights flashing for approximately 30 minutes. The prosecutor said that while handcuffed in the holding area, Crayton was captured on video reached around with his free arm and pulled the fire alarm lever. (SUBSCRIBE: Get Real-Time Alerts and a Daily Newsletter for Oak Lawn.)

Crayton and an Oklahoma woman allegedly robbed two gas stations in Oak Lawn on Aug. 6 and Aug. 20. Prosecutors said Crayton brandished a pistol during the robberies and hit one of the employees with the gun. Crayton and his alleged accomplice, Jamara White, 21, of Tulsa, OK, were arrested Aug. 21 when they were pulled over in a traffic stop and police found a 9mm Taurus gun, prosecutors said. White allegedly confessed that the gun was hers. Both were ordered held without bond.

The prosecutor said Crayton has an armed robbery conviction from 2012. Bail was set at $100,000 for the disorderly conduct charge. Crayton’s next court date is Spet. 19 in Bridgeview.