Panhandler pushes 82-year-old woman face-first to ground, breaking her knee, after she wouldn’t give him money, officials say

A Chicago panhandler pushed an 82-year-old woman face-first to the ground last month, breaking her knee, after she refused to give him money, CWB Chicago reported, citing officials.

Prosecutors said 49-year-old Dion Rance was panhandling near the drive-through of a McDonald’s in the 1000 block of West Wilson Avenue around 10 a.m. Sept. 15 when the victim — who visits the restaurant for breakfast almost every day — exited the fast-food restaurant, the outlet reported.

‘People in Uptown are racist and don’t give any money.’

Prosecutors added that surveillance video allegedly shows Rance following the victim along a sidewalk before shoving her in the back, CWB Chicago said, adding that the woman fell face-first upon the concrete and screamed in pain as Rance walked away.

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A passerby rushed to help the woman, who returned to her nearby apartment building, where a staffer called 911. She was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center with a fractured knee and additional injuries to her face and body from the fall, prosecutors said.

Police who reviewed the surveillance video immediately recognized Rance and placed his image into a photo lineup. But the victim, who suffers from cataracts, could not identify him, according to a detention filing.

Officers recently found Rance walking in the 5300 block of North Clark in Andersonville and took him into custody.

Prosecutors said Rance admitted to asking the woman for money but claimed he pushed her because she called him the N-word — in Chinese, the outlet noted.

Rance told officers he went to school with “a Chinese guy who taught him a lot,” CWB Chicago said, citing the detention filing.

However, a court document states that the victim speaks Japanese, the outlet noted.

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Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune

Rance also allegedly told investigators that “people in Uptown are racist and don’t give any money,” CWB Chicago added.

Judge James Murphy III ordered Rance detained on charges of aggravated battery of a victim over 60 and aggravated battery in a public place, the outlet noted.

Jail records indicate Rance was booked Sept. 18 on no bond, and he remained behind bars Wednesday morning. His next court date is scheduled for Oct. 10, jail records say.

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