[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A Chicago commuter was viciously attacked by thieves who choked him unconscious and rifled through his pockets.The 49-year-old victim's ordeal on February 17 was caught on harrowing surveillance video obtained by Fox News.
Fernando Loyo-Rodriguez, Wilker Gutierrez Sierra, Carlos Carreno-Carreno and Yonnier Guasamucare Garcia, who are all Venezuelan migrants, have been charged with attempted murder and robbery.
The footage shows four men appear to befriend their victim in the train car before he is suddenly seized from behind. The man is choked and loses consciousness. As he falls to the ground, one of the suspects covers the camera. oPolice said one of the suspects held a knife to the victim's throat during the attack.
The group made off with $400 and a cellphone and left their victim unconscious in the back of the train car. The suspects, who are aged 18 to 22-years-old, were arrested 45 minutes later.
They had only been in the country for a few months prior to the incident, with three of the accused previously picked up for shoplifting.
The men appeared in Cook County court on Tuesday status-detention hearing. Carreno-Carreno, Loyo-Rodriguez and Guasamucare Garcia were put in custody, while Gutierrez Sierra was let out on ankle monitor. They are due back in court on August 28.
The issue has become a flashpoint ahead of the November election and a cornerstone of Donald Trump's campaign. The presidential hopeful has vowed to deport millions of migrants who entered the US illegally if elected.
However, several studies have indicated that migrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans. One study by Stanford economist Ran Abramitzky found that immigrants are 30 percent less likely to be incarcerated than are white, US-born individuals.