A possible plea did not materialize Wednesday in the case of a Bellwood man charged in a Christmas Eve robbery involving a pair of Air Jordans.
Rodney E. Payton, 22, has pleaded not guilty to armed robbery in connection to the Dec. 24 incident at Elm Creek Apartments. A man with a pair of new Nike Air Jordan shoes had posted a Craigslist ad seeking to trade them for a different size. During the meeting to exchange shoes, a hooded suspect approached with a gun and ordered the man to drop his shoes. He did so and the two suspects sped away in a car with Florida license plates, police said previously.
Payton was arrested Payton a short time later after Elmhurst police received help from Bellwood police. A loaded .38-caliber pistol was found in the vehicle, police said. No one else has been charged in the case. Payton remains free on $75,000 bond.
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Court records showed the possibility that Payton would enter a plea deal on Wednesday, and attorneys did meet with the judge in chambers for several minutes, but instead came out with plans to return to court later this month.
Payton, who has two prior misdemeanor arrests since 2007, studied occupational therapy at Elmhurst College as of late 2011, according to an affidavit filed by his attorney for a bond reduction.
