Man charged with carrying machete on CTA Green Line
Jul 17, 2026
A man has been accused of carrying a machete and knife on a CTA Green Line train in Austin last weekend.Ronald Reed, 31, was stopped by Cook County sheriff’s officers about 2:15 p.m. July 11 after officers noticed him holding an open beer can on the train near the Austin stop, the sheriff’s offi
ce said.Officers searched Reed and found a machete with an 18-inch blade in a sling on his back, and a knife with a 5-inch serrated blade in a holster, police said.Bodycamera footage shows a sheriff’s officer asking Reed at the Green Line station if he has anything on him before he searches him.“I got a machete,” Reed says in the video, telling the officer it’s on his back.Reed, of West Garfield Park, was arrested and charged with one count each of felony unlawful possession of a weapon and misdemeanor disorderly conduct.A Cook County judge ordered him held in custody while he awaits trial.Reed’s next court date was set for July 31.
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