A man who attempted to rob a West Side fried chicken restaurant at gunpoint is now in custody, thanks to a woman who escaped and flagged down a Chicago police patrol car, officials said.
Employees at Popeyes, 3457 West Roosevelt Road, were wrapping up the day around 11 p.m. on June 23 when 28-year-old Micah Harris climbed through the drive-thru window with a gun, prosecutors said. A 33-year-old female employee immediately sensed trouble and ran out the door to find help.
Meanwhile, Harris threatened, pushed, and ordered the other three employees around the restaurant as he attempted to access the safe, according to prosecutors.
“Tell me where the safe is at, or I’m going to kill you,” he allegedly ordered a 58-year-old female employee at gunpoint. Turning his attention to a 44-year-old male employee, Harris again demanded to know the safe’s location before hitting, kicking, and pistol-whipping the employee, prosecutors alleged.
Unbeknownst to Harris, the employee who escaped spotted a CPD squad car stopped at a red light outside the restaurant, a police report said.
“Help me! Help me! He has a gun,” she told the officers. “He trying to get into the safe!”
The officers made a U-turn and entered the restaurant to find the masked robber, dressed in a black hoodie and gray pants, behind the counter, according to the report. It said Harris tried to escape out the back door, but officers caught him as he emerged from the restaurant with a loaded gun in his hand.
He is charged with attempted armed robbery, aggravated armed kidnapping, aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon, and multiple counts of unlawful restraint. Judge Deidre Dyer ordered Harris detained pending trial.
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