Chicago police are warning North Side residents about a robbery crew that has robbed or carjacked at least four people since October 1st. CWBChicago was first to report about the pattern on Thursday morning. Detectives typically issue community alerts if they believe a series of crimes have been committed by the same person or group of offenders.
Police said that in each incident, a group of offenders has approached victims while they were alone in a stopped vehicle or while they were alone on the street. The robbers then displayed one or more handguns and demanded the victims’ property, car, or both.
Around 10:30 p.m. on October 1st, a 65-year-old Skokie man was carjacked at gunpoint as he sat in his car in the 1400 block of West Sunnyside. Three men ordered from his vehicle at gunpoint and then sped away northbound on Clark Street. Police said the stolen car is a four-door black 2012 Hyundai Sonata. Its license plate begins with E9099.
Then, they returned to the area to commit three robberies in two hours on Wednesday evening, October 3rd:
• At 9:45 p.m. a 50-year-old man was walking on the sidewalk in the 2900 block of North Paulina when five men exited a Lexus SUV and one of the offenders pointed a gun at his chest. The crew announced a robbery, took the man’s phone and wallet, then fled in the vehicle. The robbers’ silver or gray Lexus is a 2012 model bearing license plate H446658. It was reported stolen in the Austin neighborhood on September 12th, according to police records.
• About 15 minutes later, a 40-year-old man was sitting in a parked car in the 3600 block of North Greenview when three men stepped out of a Lexus SUV and announced a robbery while implying that they had a weapon, police said. The robbers took the man’s wallet and phone, then drove away with his car. The tan 2013 Kia Optima with a license plate beginning with “AK322” was last seen heading east on Waveland followed by the Lexus.
• Finally, around 11:45 p.m., a man walked into Area North Police Headquarters at Belmont and Western to report that he had just been carjacked nearby. The man told police that he was sitting in a BMW X5-M in the 2300 block of West Waveland when three men forced him from the car at gunpoint. The robbers were last seen driving southbound on Western. Also lost to the crew were the man’s backpack, phone, bike, and camera, according to a report. The stolen vehicle is a dark blue 2010 model with a plate that begins with “3612.”
The community alert describes the robbers as two to five black males between the ages of 20 and 30.
Anyone with information about these crimes or the suspects may contact Area North Detectives at 312-744-8263.
