After nearly two weeks of increased robbery reports in the Town Hall (19th) Police District, Chicago police have now issued a community alert for the area. The new warning from detectives links eight recent muggings to a pattern, which typically means investigators believe the same group of offenders committed the crimes.
The alert does not include at least 10 additional robberies that were reported in the same time period, many of which included the use of handguns.
In the warning, detectives said between one and three offenders approached victims on the street and demanded their valuables with a threat to use force. One victim was battered. The robbers then ran from the scene or drove away in a dark-colored vehicle, police said.
The pattern announced in the alert linked the following seven robberies in the Town Hall District:
- At 1:09 p.m. on October 13, two men robbed a woman as she walked in the 1900 block of West Patterson.
- About 10 minutes later, a woman was robbed by two men who took her purse as she walked her dog in the 3700 block of North Wolcott.
- At 11:30 a.m. on October 19, a robber ran past a woman and snatched a phone from her hand as she ate at a restaurant’s outdoor dining area in the 2500 block of North Clark, according to Officer Hector Alfaro, a CPD spokesperson. The woman was not injured.
- A short time later, a similarly-described man stole a woman’s phone on the 3400 block of North Broadway. She also escaped injury.
- Three men mugged a woman in the 800 block of West Cornelia at 8:50 p.m. on October 19. One of the woman’s credit cards was used at a nearby service station a few minutes later, leading police to believe that the offenders had a car.
- At 9:45 p.m. October 19, three offenders knocked a 40-year-old man to the ground, put him in a headlock, and tried to rob him as he walked on the 1100 block of West Grace. The robbers fled in a four-door sedan that may be an Acura.
- Another woman was mugged around 3:40 p.m. on October 20th in the 900 block of West Diversey.
Also, the alert linked one robbery from the nearby Lincoln (20th) Police District. That incident was reported on the 5300 block of North Rockwell at 9:50 a.m. on October 20.
According to the alert, the suspects are three Black males. Two are between 25- and 30-years-old and are over 6’1” tall. The other is between 19- and 23-years-old and stands about 5’8” tall.
Anyone with information about the crimes can contact Area Three detectives at 312-744-8263 regarding alert P20-3-189A.
