Police are investigating another 90-minute wave of armed robberies that rolled from Streeterville to West Town late Tuesday night into this morning. While Cook County sheriff’s deputies chased one of the suspect vehicles to the South Side, all of its occupants escaped. No arrests have been announced.
Recurring nighttime robbery sprees have been an ongoing issue in the city, where robbery cases are up 21% from last year and 8% from 2020. Some areas, such as the Lakeview Town Hall (19th) District, are seeing much larger increases.
In the most recent incidents:
Around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, two men wearing ski masks robbed two people at gunpoint in the 300 block of West Goethe in Old Town. The offenders stole the victims’ valuables, including one man’s Air Jordan shoes.
Police at the scene said the robbers were two Black males who stood about 5’11” tall. One wore a black hoodie, and the other wore a red and black hoodie. They fled the area in an older black SUV.
At 11:40 p.m., three robbers stepped out of a white Chevy Malibu and punched a 26-year-old man in the face as he walked with his wife on the 400 block of East Ohio in Streeterville. The crew took the man’s wallet and phone at gunpoint and escaped in the car.
Chicago police spotted the Malibu a few moments later in Streeterville but did not pursue the car, which sped away from the area. It popped up again around 12:30 a.m. in the Clybourn Corridor.
Five men stepped out of the Malibu and robbed a man at gunpoint as he stood outside the Subway restaurant, 1762 North Clybourn.
At 12:50 a.m., the Malibu pulled up to the 1800 block of West Division, where three men jumped out to rob a 34-year-old man standing on the sidewalk.
Cook County deputies spotted the car around 2 a.m. and pursued it to the Grand Crossing neighborhood, but no arrests were made. Police impounded the Malibu.
Investigators believe the same Malibu was used in at least one other robbery spree in the same area recently.
On Saturday morning, an armed robbery team committed at least nine robberies and carjackings stretching from Little Village to Boystown, yet no arrests were made.