Bad News: Duo Robs Man With Hammer Near Recreation Drive; Good News: 2018 Robbery Reports Low In Wrigleyville & Boystown

A 26-year-old man was struck with a hammer and robbed near the lakefront in Lakeview on Saturday evening, police said. He was not seriously injured. No one is in custody

The victim was near the baseball fields at 3600 North Recreation Drive when two unknown men approached him and struck him with the hammer around 7:10 p.m. The offenders took the victims money and phone, then ran away, police said.

Police described the offenders as a black male between 30- and 35-years-old who stands 6’2” tall and weighs 180 pounds. He was reportedly dressed as a female in a light brown blouse and brown shorts. The second suspect is a black male with a beard, about 29-years-old, 5’10” tall, last seen wearing a gray hoodie, tee shirt, and jeans.

Great Start

Despite Saturday’s brazen mugging, the Wrigleyville and Boystown areas recorded only 30 robberies through the first four months of this year. That’s the fifth-best start to any year since at least 2001.

CWBChicago considers the area from Belmont to Irving and Southport to Lake Michigan to be “Wrigleyville and Boystown” for statistical purposes. The area is comprised of Chicago Police Department beats 1923, 1924, and 1925.

Just five years ago, Wrigleyville and Boystown was entering what would become its worst year for robberies on record. Through April, 71 muggings had been reported in the area. In 2012, the second-worst year for robberies on record, there were 75 hold-ups through the first four months.

During a “Twitter Town Hall” on Friday, we asked 19th District Commander Marc Buslik what the department was doing differently to drive down muggings in our area:

“We work through analysis of offenders and their behaviors,” Buslik said. “We deploy in areas using these stats. We know where to deploy uniform & plain clothes [police officers]. Our robbery team [follows up with] victims & detectives.  A new robbery sergeant has experience with street crime investigations.”

The 19th District’s aggressive pursuit of robbery suspects resulted in the arrests of at least eight robbery offenders in five days during April.

For those of us who remember what it was like to live in the most robbery-filled police beat in Chicago just a few years ago, the sharp reversal of fortune is very much welcome.

Stats

Robberies in Wrigleyville + Boystown By Month And Year
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec TOTAL
2001 9 8 9 9 11 8 15 13 20 24 15 14 155
2002 13 9 15 20 12 16 18 28 12 17 24 20 204
2003 4 6 4 13 10 15 20 13 14 17 14 13 143
2004 11 5 9 9 14 11 22 10 24 14 23 8 160
2005 12 8 15 9 12 16 20 27 11 11 17 13 171
2006 18 10 8 11 6 14 21 15 9 11 16 7 146
2007 3 1 5 7 17 20 14 5 24 13 17 9 135
2008 9 7 11 10 18 16 16 17 21 27 16 16 184
2009 6 13 13 11 17 15 18 20 17 8 13 13 164
2010 12 4 13 13 13 16 14 14 26 18 26 12 181
2011 14 9 11 16 21 28 19 21 20 30 20 18 227
2012 9 9 21 13 23 38 33 31 15 14 16 12 234
2013 27 11 8 6 19 30 29 38 26 21 11 14 240
2014 9 3 8 9 13 25 19 15 11 18 14 13 157
2015 8 4 4 6 9 10 18 17 21 16 5 10 128
2016 19 10 11 15 11 16 18 23 20 31 19 6 199
2017 9 9 7 14 13 23 15 16 11 18 15 6 156
2018 3 7 10 10
Red denotes the 10 worst months (with ties) Green denotes the 10 best months (with ties)
Source: City of Chicago Data Portal. Current Chicago Police Department beat numbers 1923, 1924, and 1925 constitute “Wrigleyville and Boystown” for statistical purposes. The boundaries are Belmont, Southport, Irving Park, and Lake Michigan.

Robbery List

Here’s a list of every robbery reported in Wrigleyville and Boystown through April 29, 2018. Click on links to read CWBChicago’s report about incidents and arrests, where available.

Case Date & Time Block Location Weapon? Arrest?
1 JB110898 1/10/2018 10:51:00 3200 N BROADWAY DRUG STORE BOTTLE Yes
2 JB115790 1/14/2018 10:04:00 3500 N BROADWAY BANK NONE Yes
3 JB134138 1/28/2018 1:00:00 3500 N SEMINARY AVE RESIDENCE HANDGUN No
4 JB139899 2/3/2018 1:10:00 900 W CORNELIA AVE ALLEY NONE Yes
5 JB150052 2/13/2018 1:05:00 3400 N HALSTED ST SIDEWALK NONE No
6 JB150500 2/13/2018 11:48:00 900 W IRVING PARK RD SMALL RETAIL STORE NONE No
7 JB152937 2/15/2018 11:15:00 1300 W IRVING PARK RD SIDEWALK NONE No
8 JB158844 2/20/2018 13:35:00 3700 N SOUTHPORT AVE MOVIE HOUSE THEATER KNIFE No
9 JB166103 2/24/2018 1:00:00 3500 N CLARK ST ALLEY HANDGUN No
10 JB165492 2/25/2018 23:30:00 900 W NEWPORT AVE ALLEY KNIFE YES
11 JB169335 3/1/2018 1:20:00 3500 N HALSTED ST SIDEWALK NONE YES
12 JB172629 03/03/2018 6:20:00 PM 3800 N CLARK ST HANDGUN SIDEWALK No
13 JB179104 3/9/2018 8:59:00 1200 W BELMONT AVE ALLEY OTHER No
14 JB179728 3/9/2018 14:30:00 900 W ADDISON ST CTA PLATFORM NONE No
15 JB179843 3/9/2018 17:35:00 3600 N BROADWAY BANK NONE YES
16 JB200185 03/11/2018 5:00:00 AM 009XX W BELMONT AVE CTA TRAIN NONE No
17 JB191396 3/19/2018 9:02:00 800 W IRVING PARK RD SIDEWALK NONE No
18 JB191424 3/19/2018 9:30:00 3300 N BROADWAY SIDEWALK NONE YES
19 JB197674 03/24/2018 1:44:00 AM 3400 N SOUTHPORT AVE STREET NONE No
20 JB199748 03/25/2018 11:00:00 PM 800 W NEWPORT AVE RESIDENTIAL YARD HANDGUN No
21 JB212282 04/01/2018 3:00:00 AM 3700 N CLIFTON AVE APARTMENT NONE No
22 JB220421 04/11/2018 9:01:00 PM 3500 N CLARK ST ALLEY NONE No
23 JB226149 04/16/2018 1:45:00 AM 009XX W ADDISON ST SIDEWALK NONE No
24 JB228290 04/17/2018 11:00:00 PM 010XX W ADDISON ST STREET NONE No
25 JB230424 (CSA) 04/19/2018 8:55:00 PM 039XX N FREMONT ST RESIDENCE PORCH HALLWAY NONE YES
26 JB231885 04/20/2018 7:00:00 PM 032XX N HALSTED ST OTHER NONE No
27 JB232038 04/21/2018 3:00:00 AM 008XX W CORNELIA AVE SIDEWALK NONE YES
28 JB232140 04/21/2018 8:37:00 AM 013XX W WAVELAND AVE STREET HANDGUN No
29 JB233209 04/22/2018 5:30:00 AM 007XX W ROSCOE ST SIDEWALK NONE No
30 JB239546 04/26/2018 9:00:00 PM 011XX W EDDY ST STREET NONE No
About CWBChicago 4259 Articles
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.