A six-time convicted felon added to his growing résumé Monday by pleading guilty to robbing the Dior boutique on Rush Street three years ago, court records show.
Judge Sophia Atcherson sentenced Anthony Bowens, 56, to nine years in prison for armed robbery, plus a concurrent seven-year sentence for a separate burglary charge, according to court records.
In August 2023, Bowens allegedly pried through two doors at the back of the Dior store at 931 North Rush Street around 10:47 p.m. Once inside, he pulled out a firearm and held a Dior security guard at gunpoint while collecting purses and bags from store shelves, prosecutors said. CPD reports estimated the store’s loss at between $40,000 and $48,000.
Bowens loaded the merchandise into a black Yukon in the alley and drove away. A source familiar with the investigation said detectives quickly zeroed in on Bowens because the license plate on the getaway vehicle was registered to him. The next afternoon, police spotted the Yukon near 63rd and Lowe streets. Knowing the vehicle was potentially connected to the Dior robbery, officers pulled it over.
According to a CPD arrest report, Bowens resembled the robber captured on Dior’s security cameras. Officers also learned that his driver’s license was suspended and took him into custody. Chicago police inventory records show officers found credit cards bearing the names of three other people during Bowens’ arrest.
Bowens has a lengthy criminal record dating back more than two decades, according to Cook County court records. He was convicted of burglary and armed robbery in 2010 and received a 10-year sentence for the armed robbery conviction. His earlier convictions include felon in possession of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in 2004, manufacture-delivery of cocaine in 2000, and possession of a controlled substance in 1999, according to the court file.
His nine-year sentence will be reduced by 50% with good behavior. Court records show he is receiving 432 days of credit from pretrial detention, leaving him with a little more than three years left to serve.
