Detectives are investigating the armed robbery of a work crew in North Center on Thursday afternoon which may be connected to a similar incident that targeted plumbing contractors in Lakeview last week.
Yesterday’s victims were working on a project near Lincoln and Grace around 11:30 a.m. when a white Chrysler 200 pulled up, a man got out, threatened them with a handgun, and took the workers’ motorized tree saw.
The offender tossed the saw into his car and then sped off with an accomplice.
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| The offenders’ vehicle is a white 4-door Chrysler 200, similar to this one. | Autoblog |
Cops say the case is very similar to an attempted theft of plumbing supplies from a contractor’s van in Lakeview one week earlier.
In that case, a man got out of a white Chrysler 200 in the 1400 block of West Henderson around 11 a.m. on May 4 and tried to cut the lock on a plumbing company van that contained tools and pipe.
The offenders fled before accessing the van’s interior, police said.
Witnesses described the gunman in North Center as being an 18-year-old black male with short hair who stands about 5’9” tall and weighs about 160 pounds. He was wearing a blue sweater. The second offender who remained in the car was described as a young black male with long braids.
Last Thursday’s attempted theft was carried out by similarly-described offenders.
