A West Side security guard was allegedly attacked by two sisters he told to wear masks and use hand sanitizer — one of the women holding him by the hair while the other stabbed him more than two dozen times.
“It’s the complete randomness of this. It’s terrifying,” Judge Mary Marubio said Tuesday while ordering the sister held without bail on attempted murder charges.
The argument at Snipes shoe store in Lawndale escalated Sunday when 18-year-old Jayla Hill took out her phone and began filming a guard who asked them to leave for refusing to use personal protective equipment, Cook County prosecutors said.
Jayla Hill allegedly said she was calling someone “kick his ass” at the store, 3258 W. Roosevelt Road.
That promoted the 6-foot-5, 270-pound security guard to reach out and try to grab her phone, prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, her 21-year-old sister Jessica Hill allegedly picked up a trash can and “smashed” it in the 32-year-old guard’s face, prosecutors said. The sisters then began punching the man.
During the scuffle, Jessica Hill took out a “comb knife” with a hidden blade and began stabbing the guard 27 times in his neck, back and arms while the guard and an assistant store manager pleaded for the sisters to stop, prosecutors said.
Jayla Hill allegedly assisted her by grabbing the guard’s hair so he couldn’t move.
After the guard broke free and fell to the floor, the sisters kicked him in the head and body, prosecutors said.
Jessica Hill allegedly called him a “b- – – -” and said he had gotten “f- – – – – up” by the sisters.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/21993557/Jessica_Hill__21.jpg "Sisters allegedly hold down, stab security guard 27 times
after being told to wear masks in West Side store 2")
Despite the puncture wounds, the guard held the sisters in the store until police arrived and arrested them, prosecutors said. The guard was taken to a hospital but did not need surgery.
The entire fight was captured on store surveillance video, prosecutors said.
The sisters’ attorney said the women were acting in self-defense and that the counts of attempted murder amounted to “overcharging.” The attorney said the fact that Jayla Hill was recording the incident with her phone as proof the sisters did not intend to commit a crime.
Judge Marubio said that while the attack may have not been premeditated, the “sheer number” of stab wounds was “of concern.”
Marubio compared the alleged attack to the emotional and violent outbursts seen in domestic cases.
“This is just too random and quickly escalating. I can’t fashion conditions that would protect the community,” Judge Marubio said, noting that both women have no criminal history.
The sisters are expected to appear in court again Nov. 4.
Tuesday afternoon, a security guard was on watch at Snipes, approaching every customer walking in to ask what they needed.
Sales associates stood away from the doors, where hand sanitizer sat on a table. The employees said they’d been told by their employer not to speak with the media.
Rosalyn Frazier, a manager at nearby Rainbow Shops, wasn’t working Sunday but heard about the attack from coworkers. Business was slow Tuesday, and Frazier felt a little uneasy about the situation.
“I’m kind of weary because we often have to tell customers to wear their masks and they get irate and don’t want to do it,” Frazier said. “We had a customer the other day that didn’t want to wear a mask and we needed to call the police. It’s crazy.”
Frazier said they are only trying to keep people safe and doing what is asked of them by public health officials. She doesn’t want the store to shut down because of another outbreak also doesn’t want to get into any more confrontations with people over mask wearing.
“We just got to work together,” she said. “And if we don’t we are going to be locked down again and be out of work for another four months.”
