Chicago — A Rogers Park man who robbed a local convenience store three times since late November was identified after Chicago police used surveillance footage to track him from the store to his apartment building after two of the hold-ups, prosecutors said this week.
Romero Wilson, 24, was charged with three counts of robbery during a court hearing Thursday afternoon. Judge Charles Beach ruled he could go home on electronic monitoring upon posting a $3,000 bail deposit.
All the robberies occurred at Modern Food Mart, 7001 North Sheridan Road.
The crimes began when a man rode to the store on a bike around 12:30 p.m. on November 29. Surveillance video showed him immediately walking behind the store’s counter, where he threatened to shoot the cashier, saying, “it will get bad,” according to prosecutor Rhianna Biernat.
The store employee backed up and put his hands in the air as the robber took $2,809 worth of cigarettes and other tobacco products.
On December 19, the same scenario played out at 5:20 p.m.
After getting about $1,300 worth of tobacco products, the robber jumped on a bike and rode away. Chicago police followed the robber’s escape on a series of surveillance cameras until he reached the rear entrance of a nearby apartment building, Biernat said.
The robber lowered his face mask as he entered the complex, which helped police link Wilson to the crimes.
Most recently, the food mart was robbed at 7:30 p.m. on January 14. Biernat said that the same store clerk working during the earlier robberies was stocking shelves when an offender walked up behind him, took his phone from his pocket, and forced him behind the counter.
After collecting cash from the register and about $1,500 worth of cigarettes and tobacco, the robber escaped on the same bike. Police tracked the robber to the same apartment building via video footage.
Detectives showed the apartment manager an image of the robber’s exposed face, and they identified the man as Wilson, Biernat said.
Wilson’s attorney said he is beginning to work on his GED while working as a package handler to support his 6-year-old child.