A neighborhood pest went a couple of steps too far and he’s now charged with robbing a Walgreens and a 7-Eleven near Clark and Diversey last week.
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| Bensfield (Cook County Sheriff’s Office) |
Prosecutors say 40-year-old Raymond Bensfield walked into the 7-Eleven at 2619 N. Clark Street around 9:30 last Wednesday and claimed to have a gun as he took five packs of Marlboros and two bottles of Jack Daniel’s.
The next morning, Bensfield allegedly walked into the Walgreens at 2817 N. Clark, took a bottle of Jägermeister, and then claimed to have a gun when an employee confronted him.
Bensfield was arrested about 2 hours after the Walgreens robbery when the 7-Eleven clerk that he allegedly robbed saw him standing in front of a nearby Best Buy store and called police.
He’s charged with two counts of aggravated robbery and two counts of aggravated assault. Bond is set at $200,000
Court and police records show that Bensfield, who lives in the 2700 block of N. Lakeview, has been arrested several times near Clark and Diversey lately.
• On November 9, an employee of the Market Place grocery store, 521 W. Diversey, claimed that Bensfield punched him in the face when he confronted Bensfield about allegedly stealing merchandise. Charges were dropped when the victim failed to show up in court, records show.
• On November 3, an employee of the 7-Eleven at Pine Grove and Diversey detained Bensfield for allegedly trying to shoplift a can of Steel Reserve Spiked Punch and a six pack of Fat Tire Amber Ale. These charges were also dropped because the witness did not appear in court.
• Back in July, Bensfield received a 6-month sentence after he pleaded guilty to pulling a knife on on an employee of Walmart Neighborhood Market, 2844 N. Broadway, after the victim confronted Bensfield in an area that is reserved for employees.
