On second thought: Boystown robbery, dismissed as “not bonafide” now under investigation, cops say

An armed robbery in Boystown on Monday evening that police initially said was “not bonafide” is now under investigation after two carjackers beat a woman with a gun in the same area less than 20 minutes later.

CWBChicago told you about the “not bonafide” incident yesterday in our report about two armed carjackings that unfolded Monday evening.

The 24-year-old victim of the initially-dismissed robbery later contacted CWBChicago to tell his story. Last night, CPD confirmed the crime is now under investigation. The man asked not to be identified by name.

Around 6 p.m. Monday, the victim was walking on the 800 block of West Cornelia when two men approached, and one of them said, “look here.”

“I then noticed he had a handgun held inches from my head,” said the man, who has lived in the neighborhood for about 18 months.

“They told me to empty my pockets…then they made me give them my AirPods, which were in my ears.”

“They said, ‘where the money at,’ to which I replied ‘I have none,’ and then they told me to get out of there. So, I booked it to the police station. After a few steps, I heard them yell ‘hey come back,’ which obviously I was not going to do,” the man continued.

Officers at the station “were nothing but polite and respectful,” he said. They helped him get in touch with his landlord so they could unlock his apartment. The robbers had his keys.

“They went above the call of duty in this regard.”

“While I was in the police station, I heard the call come in regarding one of the carjackings. One of the officers kind of just gave me a look and asked if one of the guys was wearing a yellow shirt. That was part of the description that came in on the call.”

But when CWBChicago contacted the police department about the man’s robbery report, CPD said the case had been deemed “not bonafide” and was “coded out” by officers.

After hearing from the victim directly, we re-contacted CPD on Tuesday evening. A spokesperson confirmed his case is now under investigation by detectives.

As for the victim, he said he applied for a license to own firearms a few months ago.

“I still have not received a response. I know several people who applied all the way back in June and have still not been approved,” he said.

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