Prosecutors want to discuss earlier attack in “Walking Man” case

Prosecutors in the murder trial of a popular Chicago personality known as the “Walking Man” are demanding proof that the defendant who allegedly doused Joseph Kromelis with gasoline also doused a CTA train conductor with the liquid two weeks earlier.

Joseph Guardia, 29, is charged with murder and aggravated arson in connection with the attack on Kromelis. Kromelis died months after he was set on fire on May 25, 2022, while sleeping under blankets on the street.

On May 10, a CTA employee reported that a young man threw liquid on him after he asked a question about a train stop, records show. The attack at the Oak Park Green Line station was captured on video, and court records show the employee later singled out Guardia based on a photo lineup.

Prosecutors have not charged Guardia in connection with the CTA incident, but prosecutors are seeking to use evidence of his alleged involvement to prove intent or state of mind in the later attack on Kromelis, according to a recent court filing.

Prosecutors argued in their motion that both crimes “shared peculiar and distinctive characteristics that most crimes of this nature do not share and that therefore mark the crimes as the work of a single individual.”

Kromelis, a sharply dressed man who often strolled alone through the streets of downtown Chicago, was attacked as he slept on the sidewalk in the 400 block of North Lower Wabash Avenue. He died several months later at the age of 75.

The haunting crime was captured on video by a surveillance system at a nearby hotel. Authorities released still images of Kromelis’ attacker, who had a large dollar sign tattooed on his cheek, and police arrested Guardia two days later. At the time of his arrest, Guardia was wearing the same clothing as in the video, authorities said.

Guardia, of Melrose Park, told police in a recorded interview that he found a cup filled with gasoline and set fire to a pile of blankets, court records show. Guardia said he did not know there was a person under the blankets, but prosecutors said Kromelis’ head and lower legs were visible.

Regarding his motive, Guardia only said that he was “an angry person.”

In their court filings, prosecutors seek to have the circumstances of the CTA encounter admitted as evidence in the murder trial to prove “modus operandi, state of mind, intent, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake, and/or absence of an innocent state of mind.”

The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that such motions to “prove other crimes” can be granted under certain circumstances. Crimes committed in a similar manner suggest a common perpetrator and strengthen the identification of the defendant, the motion states.

The conductor said he stopped at the Oak Park station when a young man in his 20s approached him and said, “Hey, bro, do you know where Harlem is?” a police report said. After telling the man that was the next stop, the man poured an unknown liquid on him, the conductor said.

The liquid had “no odor” and the train conductor rinsed himself with water, the police report said. He was not injured. Video footage shows that the suspect had a large dollar sign tattooed on his cheek. According to records, the train conductor identified Guardia in the photo lineup dated May 27, 2022.

“In both cases, the defendant acted without cause when he poured a liquid on an innocent stranger,” wrote Cook County Assistant District Attorney Jane Sack in her motion. “The two incidents are not far-fetched, as the May 10 incident occurred just 15 days before the present case.”

A Cook County judge will have to decide whether to allow Guardia’s alleged involvement in the CTA attack as evidence in his murder trial. The case is scheduled to go to trial later this summer.

A Tribune review of his criminal record revealed more than two dozen arrests in three states and additional police contacts since 2013 related to allegations of shoplifting, assault, burglary, robbery, trespassing, domestic violence, reckless conduct, resisting arrest, public intoxication and property damage. He has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and has been hospitalized for suicidal thoughts, records show.

Guardia, who is being held without bail, is being represented by the Cook County Public Defender’s Office. His attorney has not yet responded to the prosecutor’s request for comment. A spokesman for the office declined to comment.

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