Police are investigating another armed robbery from early this morning along the border of Lincoln Park and Lakeview. At least one other armed robbery was reported in nearby Lincoln Park hours earlier. A gray SUV was reportedly used in both crimes.
The area has been swept by a wave of armed robberies since last Wednesday evening. Late last week, police linked at least eight hold-ups to a group of offenders who fired shots at one victim on Wednesday and then shot another victim at close range on Friday.
Two witnesses reported the latest robbery in progress near Wolcott and Diversey around 4:35 a.m. Both callers reported a bicyclist was down on the ground with a silver SUV nearby and at least one man holding a gun near the biker, according to dispatch records.
One caller thought the bicyclist had been struck by the SUV. They said another man at the scene had a gun and threatened to shoot anyone who helped the bicyclist, according to police radio traffic.
Both witnesses told dispatchers that the bicyclist and the men in the SUV left the scene moments before police arrived.
A short time later, police responded to a nearby athletic club to take a robbery report from a man who said he had just been robbed at gunpoint by two men in a gray SUV near Diversey and Clybourn. The victim said the men took his phone, wallet, and other items, then headed west on Diversey in the car.
A CPD spokesperson confirmed police took a report at the gym, but she could not access details because the paperwork was not finalized.
Earlier Monday, a group of armed robbers emerged from a gray SUV and confronted two men who were walking on the 900 block of West Armitage around 1:03 a.m., CPD spokesperson Kellie Bartoli said.
One victim, a 26-year-old man, fell and was robbed at gunpoint of his wallet and cash, Bartoli said. The other victim, 25, ran away. He asked a passerby to call 911 and then took shelter at a nearby convenience store until police arrived.
Bartoli said neither victim was injured.
Officers at the scene said the robbers wore ski mask and all-black clothing. They were last seen heading north on Halsted Street in the SUV
Shortly after 3 a.m. Friday, a gunman shot 23-year-old culinary student Dakotah Earley during a robbery at Webster and Wayne in Lincoln Park.
A CPD internal report said the crew that shot Earley fired shots at another robbery victim in the 2600 block of North Bosworth on Wednesday evening. That victim was not injured.
The 30-year-old man reported that three masked men confronted him at gunpoint after they emerged from a car around 10:50 p.m., Bartoli said Friday morning. They demanded the man’s property. When he refused, one of them hit him in the head with a pistol, according to Bartoli. They fled when he refused to cooperate a second time. A police investigative report provided to CWBChicago said the crew fired shots at him as he escaped.
Crime pattern detailed
It is too early to know if Monday’s robberies were committed by the same people who pulled off last week’s robbery sprees and shot Earley. On Friday, CPD linked eight robberies to the team in a community alert Friday evening:
- on the 2900 block of North Clark at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday. Three men stepped out of a silver four-door sedan and confronted two men, ages 23 and 33, who were walking nearby. Two of the offenders displayed guns while the third took items from the victims’ pockets, including a set of car keys, said Bartoli, the CPD spokesperson. The younger victim reported that the crew also stole his white BMW sedan, which was parked on the 2900 block of North Halsted.
- the North Bosworth robbery described above at 10:50 p.m. Wednesday.
- on the 1100 block of West Wellington at 11 p.m. Wednesday.
- on the 3000 block of North Racine at 10 p.m. Thursday. A 22-year-old woman told police she was walking when a man wearing a yellow hoodie and surgical mask approached her from behind, according to Bartoli. He displayed a gun, took her property, and fled west on Barry Avenue in a white sedan that was waiting with two other people inside, Bartoli said. Police have determined that the getaway car is the white 2018 BMW robbers took the night before, a source said.
- on the 2600 block of North Racine at 10:26 p.m. Thursday. A 23-year-old man told police that a robber confronted him at gunpoint as he walked down the street.
- on the 700 block of West Aldine at 12:30 a.m. Friday. A 30-year-old man said two masked men stepped out of a black sedan and demanded his property at gunpoint as he was walking. One offender punched him in the face when he started screaming, Bartoli said. He ran away, and the offenders escaped without getting anything.
- on the 1100 block of West Fullerton at 3 a.m. Friday. A DePaul University student was walking when a white sedan pulled up and a gunman emerged from the passenger seat to demand his property, according to a safety bulletin from the school.
- the robbery and shooting of Earley on the 1300 block of West Webster at 3:05 a.m. Friday.
The suspects are Black males between 16- and 30-years-old who wear ski masks, the alert said.
You can provide information about the crimes to Area Three detectives at 312-744-8263. Refer to crime pattern P22-3-032.