CHICAGO — There’s some good news to report regarding police efforts to neutralize an armed robbery crew that has struck more than 20 times over the past month in West Town neighborhoods. Chicago police on Saturday said a 16-year-old boy is being charged with participating in four of those robberies, which involved seven victims.
The boy was part of the crew that worked the streets on March 11, police said, starting with the robbery of a 24-year-old man in the 2000 block of West St. Paul around 9 a.m.
About an hour later, they targeted four men who were in the 2700 block of North Albany. As with all of the other holdups, two or three robbers got out of a gray sedan, displayed guns, and took the victims’ phones and wallets. They tried to take their truck, too, but failed.
The victims offered descriptions that were similar to the first robbery but noted that one of the offenders was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet, which was emitting an alert. It’s unclear if that ankle monitor helped investigators identify the 16-year-old.
At 10:25, they mugged a 26-year-old man in the 2500 block of West Huron. And, at 4:10 p.m., they robbed a 32-year-old man in the 1900 block of North Rockwell.
CPD cannot release any other information about the accused boy because he is a juvenile. He is charged with six counts of armed robbery and one count of misdemeanor aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. CPD said he also had an outstanding warrant.
