Overview
- Lawrence Reed, 50, already facing a federal terrorism-related charge for the Nov. 17 Blue Line fire attack, remains in custody as the woman he allegedly set on fire stays in critical condition at Stroger Hospital.
- A grand jury has indicted Reed in a March 27 incident near the Grand Blue Line stop, where he is accused of attempting to sexually assault a woman and battering a man who intervened; neither victim was seriously hurt.
- The Cook County State's Attorney's Office says it first learned of the March case on Nov. 20 and that a true bill was promptly returned, while Chicago police say the investigation remained active and charges were secured on Nov. 28.
- Police said Reed was taken to Rush University Medical Center for a mental health evaluation after the March encounter, and he is due in court Monday on the new charges.
- Records and officials describe multiple electronic-monitoring curfew violations in the days before the November fire, with a dispute between the chief judge and prosecutors over whether those alerts were reported before the attack.