Since being paroled in late August, an eight-time convicted drug dealer last month was arrested twice for selling narcotics in Chicago. Judges released him both times, once on electronic monitoring. Now, police say he escaped from the home monitoring program and last week robbed two people in the downtown area.
Four people called 911 last Wednesday evening to report that a similarly described man either robbed or tried to rob them in the Loop and West Loop neighborhoods.
One woman reported that the man asked her for directions on the 500 block of South Jefferson and then threatened to kill her if she didn’t give him money around 5:15 p.m. The man left after she handed over a credit card, the woman said.
Another alleged victim flagged down police near the Greyhound bus terminal at 630 West Harrison after a man tried to rob them while implying that he was armed.
Then, around 6:50 p.m., a woman reported that a man implied that he was armed as he robbed her at an ATM near Wells and Van Buren in the Loop.
About ten minutes later, police who were searching the area found a man matching the offender’s description standing outside a convenience store across from City Hall on the 100 block of North LaSalle.
Multiple victims identified 31-year-old Devin Wilder as the man who either robbed or tried to rob them, police said.
Prosecutors charged Wilder with felony robbery, felony attempt robbery, misdemeanor theft of lost or mislaid property, and misdemeanor obstruction of identification for allegedly providing police with the fake name of “Cornelious Pryor.”
Wilder was also served with three warrants: Two for failure to appear in court for the narcotics cases that he has accrued since being paroled and another for escaping from electronic monitoring, according to court records.
A judge ordered him held without bail on the warrants and set bail at $25,000 for the new robbery cases.
State records show that Wilder was released early from prison on Aug. 30 after serving half of two recent narcotics convictions.
Less than five weeks later, Judge David Navarro released Wilder on a recognizance bond after police arrested him for a new narcotics case.
And eight days after that, police arrested Wilder again after he allegedly sold heroin to an undercover cop. Judge Arthur Willis released him on a recognizance bond and ordered him to go on electronic monitoring.
Wilder slipped away from electronic monitoring and failed to appear in court on Oct. 30, records show. A judge issued warrants for his arrest and the sheriff’s office filed escape charges.
Before his most recent prison stint, Wilder did time for narcotics in 2016, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2009, and 2008. His first prison term was a six-year sentence for robbery in 2005.
He is due back in court on Wednesday.