Lakeview: AT&T store robbed Saturday

The AT&T store at 554 West Diversey. | Google

Police are investigating the armed robbery of an AT&T store in Lakeview on Saturday afternoon. No one was injured.

Three men entered the store at 554 West Diversey around 3:50 p.m. and one of the offenders displayed a knife, according to police and a witness who contacted CWBChicago.

“They came in brandishing knives and robbed the store ripping all the equipment off the displays and carrying it away,” the witness said.

According to surveillance video, the robbers were black men in their late teens or early 20’s. One wore a green puffy jacket, a blue hat with yellow writing on the front, and light-colored jeans. Another wore a blue hoodie with a horizontal stripe and gray pants. The third wore a black hoodie, black pants, and white shoes. They were all last seen heading west on Diversey from the retailer.

Fajour Hodges | CPD

7-Eleven arrest
One adult has been charged in connection with last Sunday’s flash mob theft from a Gold Coast convenience store.

Video published by CWBChicago last Sunday showed seven men entering the store at 1036 North Dearborn earlier in the day — four of the men then went behind the counter and stole an estimated $2,265 worth of merchandise, according to police. Taken were 100 packs of Newport cigarettes, a carton of Newports, and four packs of rolled cigars.

About three hours after the theft, police officers monitoring a POD camera allegedly saw 18-year-old Fajour Hodges selling loose cigarettes near Chicago and Wabash. Patrol officers approached Hodges and found him in possession of three boxes of Newports, according to a CPD report.

Surveillance images of four men who went behind the counter at 7-Eleven. | Provided

Hodges denied being at the 7-Eleven earlier in the day and he told officers that he purchased the cigarettes for $8 a pack from a friend. Prosecutors charged Hodges with felony theft and Judge David Navarro released him on a recognizance bond.

In addition to the 7-Eleven case, Hodges is due back in court on Oct. 8th to face charges of possessing a stolen Divvy bike near State Street and Chicago Avenue on Aug. 21. Police said the bike Hodges was riding had been reported stolen from a Divvy technician earlier in the summer.