Man Charged With Robbing Woman In Uptown; Also: High Bail For Violent Lincoln Park Shoplifter

Ontiveros | Chicago Police Dept

A Lincoln Square man grabbed a woman and choked her during a robbery last Sunday afternoon in the 4800 block of North Ravenswood, prosecutors said.

18-year-old Martin Ontiveros grabbed the woman near her home and took a purse, phone, and jewelry around 4 p.m., according to charges. A neighbor saw the robbery go down and called police.

Officers caught up with Ontiveros in the 4900 block of North Ravenswood, not far from his home.

He has been charged with one count of felony robbery. Bail was set at $2,000.

Big Bail For Violent Shoplifter

Banks (inset) was arrested at the Akira store near Diversey and Broadway, police said.

An Akira worker was elbowed in the eye and pepper-sprayed by a woman who tried to shoplift two t-shirts from the store at 643 West Diversey last Saturday evening.

18-year-old Tia Banks of the Grand Crossing neighborhood wrapped aluminum foil around the sensors on two $25 tees and walked out the door, prosecutors say. But the foil failed to defeat the store’s detectors, and alarms sounded. When a 28-year-old store worker brought Banks back inside, she started swinging and spraying.

Other employees were able to hold Banks until police arrived. Two other women who were with her escaped.

Banks is charged with retail theft and felony aggravated battery to a merchant. Because she was wanted for failing to appear in court on a separate shoplifting charge, the court denied electronic monitoring and set bail at a whopping $100,000.

Police records show that Banks has been arrested five times for shoplifting in 2017.

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CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets.