Chicago cops have arrested two men downtown as officers struggle to clean up a massive robbery surge that has been allowed to fester in River North, the Loop, and Magnificent Mile neighborhoods.
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| Damonte Jones is accused of robbing the woman outside of a hotel in the first block of West Illinois. | CPD; Google |
In the first case, prosecutors have charged 18-year-old Damonte Jones with robbing a tourist outside of a hotel in the River North neighborhood on Friday night. A 25-year-old New York woman told police that Jones robbed her of her phone as she stood in the first block of West Illinois Street around 10:30 p.m. An off-duty Chicago police officer who witnessed the robbery chased Jones and detained him for police outside of Shaw’s Crab House, 25 East Hubbard, according to court records.
The off-duty officer told investigators that Jones dropped the woman’s phone during the foot chase, but the off-duty cop was able to stop, pick it up, and continue the pursuit.
Police said they asked Jones if she took the woman’s phone and he replied, “I’m not saying I did and I’m not saying I didn’t.”
Jones, of the South Shore neighborhood, is charged with one count of felony robbery. Judge David Navarro set bail at $10,000.
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| Oluwatosin Oki was arrested in the 100 block of East Delaware, police said. | CPD; Google |
Then, there’s the case of 39-year-old parolee Oluwatosin Oki.
Police said a Wheaton man reported that Oki reached into his taxi cab, put him into a chokehold, and took his wallet in the 100 block of East Delaware around 6 p.m. on October 15th. Oki then took $60 from the wallet and fled into an alley just off the Magnificent Mile, according to the victim and a witness.
Prosecutors charged Oki with misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor theft. Oki’s parole has been revoked by the Illinois Department of Corrections, and he has been returned to Stateville Correctional Center.
State records show that Oki was paroled in February 2017 after serving time for narcotics and two counts of escape. His new parole date is set for February 16th.
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