Chicago judge freed suspected robber on ankle monitor before his act of extreme violence against female shop worker… now one of the city’s cops has been murdered

A Chicago judge is facing criticism after a violent criminal he freed went on to allegedly shoot and kill a city police officer.

Cook County Judge John Lyke Jr. put Alphanso Talley on electronic monitoring just four months before Talley was accused of shooting two officers at Swedish Hospital.

The 26-year-old had been in custody for eight months as he awaited trial for armed carjacking and armed robbery, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

During the release hearing, Lyke told the court he’d seen ‘attitude adjustments’ in Talley as he’d been in and out of the courtroom.

But in March 2026, Talley missed two curfews. His monitoring device suspiciously shut off. On March 11, he failed to appear in court, prompting Lyke to issue a warrant for his arrest.

But Talley was not detained until Saturday, when he stole cash from an Albany Park dollar store and repeatedly pistol-whipped the clerk, breaking her nose, police said.

Moments later, he allegedly killed Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew and critically wounded his partner.

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