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| Garcia-Gonzalez (inset) is charged with robbing five cabbies last month. | Chicago Police Dept; File |
A 27-year-old Avondale man is accused of robbing five taxi drivers on the North Side last month. One of the hold-ups took place in Wrigleyville.
Area North detectives issued a warning about the robberies on April 15, but the situation escalated within hours as two more cabbies were robbed and one was stabbed in the chest.
Arturo Garcia-Gonzalez is charged with two counts of armed robbery-other dangerous weapon; two counts of aggravated robbery-indicating presence of a firearm; and one count each of attempt armed robbery-other dangerous weapon; aggravated battery of a victim over age 60; aggravated battery-great bodily harm; and aggravated battery-deadly weapon.
He was arrested in the 2900 block of North Dawson by a CPD mission team after one of his alleged victims identified him in a photo line-up, according to court records.
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| Locations of the five robberies (blue) and Garcia Gonzalez’s home (red) | BatchGeo |
Garcia-Gonzalez is accused of:
• Robbing a 26-year-old cabbie of $150 cash and a cell phone in the 2000 block of West Fullerton on April 15
• Stabbing a cab driver who’s over 60-years-old during an attempted robbery in the 2600 block of North Kimball on April 15
• Robbing a cabbie of $70 and a cell phone in the 3700 block of North Clark Street on April 14
• Robbing a cabbie of $80 and a cell phone in the 2000 block of West Webster while implying that he had a firearm on April 14
• Robbing another cabbie of $600 and cell phone in the 3500 block of West Melrose on April 14
Court records indicate that at least four of the taxis had in-car surveillance systems that captured images of Garcia-Gonzalez. Footage from the Hotel Palomar in River North also played a role in the investigation, according to police.
This was his first arrest in Cook County.
