Remember how we reported a few days ago that two 15-year-old boys charged with robbing a woman of her car at Clark and Fullerton on Monday were the prime suspects in a string of auto thefts and muggings of women in the area?
Those 15-year-olds were released after being charged.
Last night, a woman was mugged by two people smack dab in the middle of the robbery pattern’s hot zone. Chicago cops arrested one of the robbers. He’s a 15-year-old boy.
About an hour before the woman was robbed, an armed carjacker took a man’s brand new car just a block away. That offender remains on the loose.
Here’s what we’ve found out:
Around 9:40 p.m. Friday, a 63-year-old man was sitting in his newly-purchased Toyota Highlander in the 2600 block of North Hampden Court in Lincoln Park. A gunman entered the front passenger door and ordered him out at gunpoint, a CPD spokesperson said.
The suspect was described as a Black male wearing a black bandana on his face and all black clothing.
Then, at 10:46 p.m., two robbers pushed a 32-year-old woman to the ground and took her property in the 2700 block of North Hampden Court. Officers arrested the 15-year-old nearby. He is charged with felony robbery and misdemeanor counts of battery and theft, the police spokesperson said.
Tons of stolen cars and tons of robberies
This week, two 15-year-old boys and 19-year-old Precious Taylor were charged with robbing a woman of her car in the 2300 block of North Clark on Monday evening. One of the teens stuck his hand into the victim’s pocket to get her car keys and knocked her to the floor of a nearby business, prosecutors said.
The woman fought off the teen, but the second 15-year-old jumped in to help fight her as Taylor held the business’ front door open, Assistant State’s Attorney Steven Haamid said. After getting the woman’s keys, the trio sped away with her Audi Q5, which they promptly crashed in Streeterville, according to Haamid.
Taylor, unable to raise the $5,000 bail bond, is still cooling her heels in the Cook County jail. But, consistent with policy, the 15-year-olds were released after prosecutors filed charges.
A law enforcement source told CWBChicago that the 15-year-olds are two of three suspects in a series of at least 12 robberies in which women were targeted—mostly within the area bounded by Clark, Fullerton, Lakeview Avenue, and Diversey. Police believe the crew has also stolen dozens of cars from the same area and nearby Lakeview, likely starting sometime last year.
The source said police have recovered more than 20 cars stolen from Lakeview and Lincoln Park near one of the 15-year-old’s suburban home.
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