Four wealthy Chicago honor students who tried to steal a man's $500 bike after stopping their Mercedes to pounce on him have been taunted by a judge about their poor life choices.

Judge Peggy Chiampas asked 'can we get some Kleenex for these men?' as she ordered them held on bail after hearing how the elite college-bound teens launched a vicious attack.

Patrick Moran, Carter Coates, Andrew Patterson and Michael Kralis, all aged 18, are all charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Three of them attended Walter Young High school in downtown Chicago, a lawyer is among their parents and they are due to go to a selection of top colleges.

Prosecutors described on Wednesday how they had pulled up in a Mercedes SUV with tinted windows at a gas station in Wicker Park and beat a man with bats and a metal pipe and pepper spray in order to steal a bike in Chicago.

The four had solicited the meeting on Craigslist and claimed to police that they were trying to retrieve a stolen bike.

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A judge has told four honor students accused of beating a college student over a $500 bike: ‘I’d be crying too if I was you.’ Pictured: Patrick Moran (left) and Carter Coates (right)

In court: The teens were denied bail despite appearing remorseful in court

The seller, Eric Batlle, was trying to sell his bike for $500 before returning to Northern Illinois University, where he is studying liberal arts.

Batlle fought back and was still clinging to the bike when police arrived and arrested the four along with an unnamed 17-year-old on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old wanted to sell the bike, a KHS Flite, before returning to college in the fall – and had posted a picture of it on a Facebook page for cyclists.

Moran allegedly told Batlle to meet him at Division Street and Damen Avenue at about 2pm on Tuesday and said he would wear a white T-shirt.

'When I got there, I saw the kid. We looked at each other, and as soon as he looked at the bike, he snatched it,' Batlle told the Chicago Tribune.

The four, all aged 18, are charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Pictured: Andrew Patterson (left) and Michael Kralis (right)

‘I looked up, and four of his friends ran out of the alley with pepper spray and bats.’

He added: ‘It was a big tussle. I was trying to fight back.’

Batlle added he fought his attackers off – but they came back and dragged the bike, with him underneath, across the steet.

The attack was captured by surveillance cameras, according to ABC7chicago.com.

When police arrived on the scene, officers took the five into custody after finding a pink baseball bat, a small black and red baseball bat, a metal pipe, and a can of red pepper spray.

Judge Peggy Chiampas told the four, who appeared at court yesterday: ‘Yeah I’d be crying, too, if I was you.’

To deputies in the courtroom, she added: ‘Can we have some Kleenex for these young men?’

Vicious: The attack at the corner of Division Street and Damen Avenue was captured by surveillance cameras

The court heard Coates graduated from Whitney Young High School with a 4.3 GPA and was headed to California Polytechnic State University this fall.

Moran, the son of a lawyer, also graduated from Whitney Young and has been accepted by the University of Michigan.

Kralis's attorney joked that the 18-year-old’s ACT score was higher than his own.

Patterson is a Lincoln Park High School graduate who is hoping to become an actor.

Judge Chiampos ordered for the four to to be held on $75,000 bail.

She said: ‘This is just a tragedy all around.’