Witnesses reported seeing another robbery unfold near Lake Shore Park in Streeterville on Friday evening. It’s at least the fourth mugging in the immediate area since last Monday that involves offenders who are using a white Jeep Grand Cherokee.
And Chicago police on Sunday evening reported that a vehicle identical to one used by the robbers twice sped away from CPD vehicles near the park. So far, no arrests have been made.
Around 6 p.m. on Friday, three witnesses reported seeing a man batter and rob a woman as she walked her dog near the intersection of Dewitt and Delaware. The offender then jumped into a white Jeep that fled southbound on Lake Shore Drive, according to 911 callers.
Chicago police said no one had filed a formal report about the robbery as of Saturday morning.
On Sunday, police said a white Jeep Grand Cherokee sped away from them as they neared the vehicle at Dewitt and Delaware around 9:40 p.m. The Jeep, which has tinted windows, fled onto southbound Lake Shore Drive at Chicago Avenue.
The same Jeep returned to the area about 30 minutes later and again took off from police as officers approached it near Delaware and Mies Van Der Rohe, near where the robbery spree has been unfolding. Once again, the Jeep sped onto southbound Lake Shore Drive.
Cops saw the Jeep one more time around 1:40 a.m. Monday as it sped onto the Ontario feeder ramp.
Police believe the Jeep was recently reported stolen in southwest suburban Homer Glen.
Local Alderman Brian Hopkins (2nd) told constituents that the 18th District (Near North) Police District is committing additional resources to the area around Lake Shore Park. The Northwestern University Police Department is assisting with CPD’s efforts, Hopkins said.
Investigators connected three robberies to the Jeep before the latest incident on Friday evening:
- A 59-year-old man was jumped from behind, battered, and robbed on the 200 block of East Pearson at 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 30
- Around the same time, a 63-year-old doorman from a nearby highrise was beaten in an attempted robbery on the 800 block of North Dewitt.
- Around 10:30 a.m. on Jan 2, a man pushed a 49-year-old woman over a concrete wall as she walked her dog on the 800 block of North Dewitt. The offender collected the woman’s phone and other valuables that fell from her purse and then fled the scene.
