A 22-year-old man and two juveniles are charged with committing a series of robberies across Lakeview and Lincoln Park on Thursday afternoon before crashing their car in Streeterville. Friday, a possible fourth victim of the crew filed a report with police.
Delvon Brown, a 15-year-old male, and a 16-year-old male were arrested within minutes of the crash, which was witnessed by officers who had been following them since moments after the final hold-up, according to CPD records.
Around 4:15 p.m., three men robbed a Lakeview resident at gunpoint as he walked in the 1200 block of West Nelson. The two juveniles are charged with committing the hold-up.
Moments later, a woman was walking home from work in the 900 block of West Wolfram when a dark sedan pulled up, and the two juveniles approached her from behind, according to prosecutors.
One of the attackers pushed her against a car, jabbed a gun in her waist, and took her phone. Police later found the gun in Brown’s possession, prosecutors said.
At 4:29 p.m., a man was walking to his car on the 400 block of West Wrightwood when a car rolled up. According to the allegations, Brown and one of the juveniles got out, pointed a gun at him, and demanded his property. They sped away with his phone and wallet.
But the getaway driver made a crucial mistake seconds later when he sped through a red light at the corner of Fullerton and Lakeview in front of an unmarked CPD detective unit.
The detectives ran their car’s license plate and learned that the vehicle had been reported stolen. Officers trailed the car until it crashed on the corner of Ontario and McClurg in Streeterville a short time later. CWBChicago reader Ray F. captured footage of the driver being arrested.
Police found a toy handgun on the passenger side of the car. Brown, who allegedly ran from the car’s passenger seat, was carrying property from the Wrightwood and Wolfram victims when cops arrested him, prosecutors said.
He is charged with theft in the Wolfram case, aggravated robbery in the Wrightwood case, and criminal trespass to a vehicle.
Brown’s public defender, Courtney Smallwood, said he recently filed papers to join the Army.
“So, while that first victim was a victim of an armed robbery…Mr. Brown is before me on Class one theft” in that case, Judge David Navarro noted. He then ordered Brown held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
The 15-year-old is charged with three counts of aggravated robbery, felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and misdemeanor theft.
Prosecutors charged the 16-year-old with three counts of aggravated robbery and possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
No further information was available about the juveniles.
On Friday morning, a Lakeview woman who saw media coverage about the robbery spree called police to report that she was also targeted by the group.
The woman told officers that she was on the 1100 block of West Barry when men emerged from a car with Arkansas license plates and took her phone.
Charges have not yet been filed in that case.
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