A group of violent armed robbers who terrorized Lakeview and Lincoln Park for nearly a week with almost-nightly hold-up sprees is believed to have moved north to Uptown and Edgewater late Tuesday night. There, armed men who traveled in a gray SUV — the same type used in other recent crimes — robbed three people in under an hour.
CWBChicago has learned that police are looking for a gray Jeep Cherokee with Wisconsin license plates in connection with some of this week’s crimes. And, a source who cited preliminary information said detectives are exploring links between the robbers and a shooting that occurred near The Bean in Millennium Park shortly before last night’s robberies began.
The first hold-up Tuesday unfolded near Devon and Greenview in Edgewater shortly after 11 p.m. A man told police he was walking when a gunman emerged from a gray or silver SUV and put a gun to his stomach. The offender took a gold chain from the man’s neck and returned to the rear seat of the vehicle, which fled south on Greenview.
Officers said the robber was a Black male who wore a ski mask and a Nike jacket. He stood 6’2″ tall and weighed about 170 pounds. Victims in many of the earlier robberies said men wearing ski masks robbed them.
Then, at 11:18 p.m., a man exited a gray Jeep Cherokee on the 1100 block of West Lawrence. He pointed the gun at a 27-year-old woman as she exited a Chase Bank ATM vestibule and took her purse, according to a CPD report. The woman complied and the offender returned to the rear passenger seat of the Jeep, which headed south. Once again, the robber wore a ski mask.
Most recently, a robber got out of an SUV and pointed a handgun at two sisters who were standing on the 4600 block of North Broadway around 11:55 p.m. He took a purse from one of them, then returned to the vehicle, which ran over the other woman’s foot as it drove away, a police report said.
This robber was described as a Black male who stands about 5’9″ tall and weighs about 160 pounds. He did not wear a ski mask but covered his head with a hoodie.
Investigators now believe the robbery crew is responsible for at least 15 armed robberies since last Wednesday night, including one that left 23-year-old Dakotah Earley critically injured after a robber shot him in Lincoln Park. Police also suspected the group of firing shots at another robbery victim in Lincoln Park last week. That victim was not injured.
Besides a gray or silver Jeep with Wisconsin plates, police believe the crew also used at least one Toyota sedan in last week’s robberies. That car, or cars, have been variously described as gold and black. Yet another Toyota, which was stolen on the 800 block of South Michigan on Saturday, is linked to the group. It is dark blue and bears an Illinois license plate, according to surveillance images provided to CWBChicago by a source.
It is not yet clear why investigators are exploring potential links between the robberies and Tuesday’s shooting on Michigan Avenue near The Bean.
Previous coverage
- Man, 23, critically wounded in Lincoln Park shooting (May 6, 2022)
- Video: Armed robber shoots man 3x in Lincoln Park after demanding phone password (May 6, 2022)
- 2 nights of armed robberies across Lakeview and Lincoln Park ends with victim critically injured by gunman (May 6, 2022)
- ‘This lawlessness has to be stopped!’ Alderman demands action after a man is shot, gravely wounded during North Side robbery spree (May 6, 2022)
- Lincoln Park shooting, robbery victim is identified in GoFundMe campaign (May 6, 2022)
- Robbers who shot a man in Lincoln Park also fired shots at another victim Wednesday, CPD report says (May 7, 2022)
- Lincoln Park shooting victim is on life support, family says: ‘We ARE NOT and WILL NOT lose hope or faith for Dakotah’ (May 7, 2022)
- 2 more men robbed at gunpoint in Lincoln Park overnight (May 9, 2022)
- Another armed robbery reported in Lincoln Park, Lakeview area this morning. Witness says a gunman threatened to shoot them if they helped the victim (May 9, 2022)
- Armed crews rob 4 more people in Lakeview overnight as violent hold-up pattern grows (May 10, 2022)
