Twin Trouble: Twin brother of jailed hacker arrested

July 12, 2013 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- The I-Team has learned that the twin brother of a jailed international computer hacker has been arrested.

Now Jeremy and Jason Hammond are both in trouble with the law, but for far different reasons.

Federal authorities have called Jeremy Hammond the world's greatest computer hacker. The suburban Chicago man pleaded guilty in a major New York case and awaits sentencing. Friday night, his twin brother Jason has been arrested by Tinley Park police.

Jason Hammond, 28, is charged in a brutal mob attack that happened last year on diners in a Tinley Park restaurant.

The South Side resident who has been working to have his brother Jeremy freed from federal prison is himself behind bars Friday night.

Police say Jason Hammond was among 18 masked men who stormed a south suburban restaurant more than a year ago and attacked lunch-hour diners with bats, clubs and hammers. Ten people were hurt.

Five Indiana men were initially arrested, pled guilty, and were sentenced to prison.

Jason Hammond was just arrested Thursday, according to a booking sheet from Tinley Park police. He faces charges of armed violence, aggravated battery and mob action.

His brother Jeremy's hacking case has attracted world attention. The 2003 Glenbard East graduate was part of a so-called "hacktivist" group called Anonymous that broke into government and corporate computers, including an intelligence gathering firm known as Stratfor.

A website calling for Jeremy's release cites his twin brother's love and features a gallery of family photos of the boys from when they were little growing up in the west suburbs through middle school and high school.

Now, the twins are adults and in separate jails: Jeremy in New York, and Jason in Cook County.

The motive behind the Sunday afternoon restaurant siege is not entirely clear. The throng that barged into Ashford House that day belonged to an "anti-racist" movement, according to authorities, and they may have targeted some suspected white supremacists who were dining at the time.

Get more ITeam »

iteam, chuck goudie

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•