Chicago police on Thursday updated their warning about a robbery pattern in the South Loop after a woman was robbed of more than $10,000 by a group of men who also tried to hijack her luxury SUV on Wednesday morning.
It’s the third time Area Three detectives have warned about the crime pattern, which now includes 11 robberies. Four of those hold-ups were added in Thursday’s bulletin.
Most recently, three men threw a 46-year-old woman to the ground in an alley on the 1200 block of South Michigan and took her purse around 11:04 a.m. Wednesday. A police spokesperson said one of the men took the victim’s purse while another tried to steal her Land Rover, but he couldn’t figure out how to start it.
The woman told police she had over $10,000 cash in her purse, according to a CPD report. All three offenders escaped in a maroon 2020 Kia sedan that was recently reported stolen. Police have also linked the Kia to a robbery at the Gucci outlet store in Rosemont, according to a law enforcement source.
Also new to the list of crimes that detectives are linking to the offenders are robberies on:
- the 1100 block of South Wabash at 4:20 a.m. Tuesday, February 22
- the 1100 block of South State at 10:20 a.m. Sunday, February 20
- the 1800 block of South Michigan at 1:50 p.m. on February 14
Police previously linked these incidents to the pattern:
- At 12:50 p.m. on February 8, a man pushed a victim to the ground and robbed them on the 600 block of South Michigan, police said. Columbia College told its community members that the offender fled in a blue Mitsubishi sedan that headed south in an alley from near 75 East Harrison.
- He pushed another victim to the ground and took their phone on the 1800 block of South Indiana around 11:40 a.m. on February 12, according to the CPD alert.
- He returned to the 1300 block of South Michigan with an accomplice around 9 p.m. on February 14, police said. The two offenders blocked the victim’s path and robbed the victim while implying they had a gun.
In CPD’s first alert last month, detectives said a man pushed victims to the ground and stole their phones in the 1300 block of South Michigan at 1:50 p.m on January 20; the 1500 block of South Michigan at 12:40 p.m. on January 21; and the 1200 block of South Michigan at 12:55 p.m. on January 21. Each time, he fled in a car that was waiting nearby.
Area Three detectives are handling the robberies. They can be reached at 312-744-8263 about pattern #P22-3-007B.