Prosecutors say the man who duct-taped a Walgreens employee to a chair during a robbery in Lincoln Square earlier this month is the boyfriend of one of the store’s employees—and he had duct tape and other evidence in his car when cops spotted him leaving the same Walgreens this week.
Marquise Causey, 27, faces armed robbery with a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and unlawful restraint charges. Judge Mary Marubio ordered him held without bail.
The robbery happened around 7 a.m. on July 18 at the 4801 North Lincoln location. A female store employee had arrived for work and was unlocking the front door when Causey walked up. She mistook him for a customer and informed him that the store had not yet opened.
He told her that he knew it was closed, then pulled out a gun and led her to the office, prosecutor Tilesha Jackson said. He held the woman at gunpoint while she opened the safe, then duct taped her waist and arms to an office chair and taped her mouth closed, Jackson continued.
Causey filled a distinctive blue backpack with cash, then took the woman’s lunch bag and stuffed more money into it before escaping in a car, Jackson said. The entire incident was captured on video, but because the robber was wearing a mask, the store employee was unable to identify him, according to Jackson.
The woman eventually freed herself and called 911.
But police caught a break when they discovered that a nearby doorbell camera captured footage of the getaway car’s license plate, which was “uniquely affixed” to the front grill, Jackson said. Using the plate information, investigators learned that the getaway car was registered to Causey’s girlfriend, who works at the store, according to Jackson.
On Wednesday, store employees noticed the getaway car with the “uniquely affixed” license plate outside. They called police, and officers pulled the car over as it pulled out of the parking lot and detained Causey.
Jackson said police found the distinctive blue backpack, duct tape, and a loaded handgun in the car. Causey was wearing black Croc-style shoes similar to those worn by the robber, and khaki pants similar to the robber’s were also in his car, she said.
He is scheduled to appear in court again on August 5.
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