CHICAGO – Hate-crime charges have been filed against four African-American people suspected of torturing a white mentally disabled man and recording the attack on the West Side.

chicago-victim-3(L-R) Brittany Covington, 18, Tanishia Covington, 24, Jordan Hill, 18, Tesfaye Cooper, 18, face charges of aggravated kidnapping, hate crime, aggravated unlawful restraint and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Jordan Hill, 18, of Carpentersville, and Tesfaye Cooper, 18, Brittany Covington, 18, and Tanishia Covington, 24, all of Chicago, are expected to appear in bond court Friday, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

chicago-victimThey face charges of aggravated kidnapping, hate crime, aggravated unlawful restraint and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Hill is also charged with robbery, residential burglary and possession of a stolen motor vehicle. In addition, Cooper and Brittany Covington are charged with residential burglary.

Only Tanishia Covington has an adult criminal record, according to court records.

She was convicted of shoplifting in 2005 and received court supervision. In 2009, she was charged with assault, in 2012 she was charged with battery and in 2014 she was charged with domestic battery and endangering a life, but those cases were dismissed.

Tanishia Covington pleaded guilty in April 2016 to failing to appear at a hearing on a charge of criminal trespass to state land — and received probation, records show.
Brittany Covington was charged with shoplifting in October, but that case was dismissed.
Hill and Cooper don’t appear to have adult criminal records.
On Wednesday, Chicago Police Capt. Steven Sesso of the Harrison District said officers on patrol Tuesday near Homan and Lexington encountered the victim walking on the street.
“They saw clearly that this individual was in distress and he was in crisis. And they cared enough to do something about it,” Sesso said.  (read more)

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