Chicago police have made a significant breakthrough in their investigation into a series of violent daylight robberies that have rattled parts of the city in recent weeks. Authorities believe they have apprehended a three-man crew responsible for at least eight armed holdups this month alone.
The arrests occurred on a Saturday afternoon, just half an hour before the CPD issued a second community alert regarding the robbery crew. In each incident, the offenders would emerge from a gray Infiniti Q50, rob pedestrians at gunpoint, demand phone passcodes, and even resort to pistol-whipping victims before making their escape.
A source close to the investigation revealed that police had discovered the stolen Infiniti’s return route to the Washington Boulevard and Central Avenue area after each robbery spree. This critical information led investigators to deploy additional resources in the vicinity.
At around 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, officers sighted the Infiniti with all three suspects on board and trailed them for about eight minutes until the suspects abandoned the vehicle near Kostner Avenue and Le Moyne Street. A foot chase ensued, resulting in the swift apprehension of all three individuals, with the driver being armed at the time of arrest.
The Impounded Infiniti yielded some of the stolen property belonging to the robbery victims. Charges were pending as of Sunday morning, indicating progress in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
The most recent incident took place just before 11:20 a.m. on a Friday in the West Loop’s 300 block of North Laflin Street. Two masked gunmen targeted three victims sitting inside a red vehicle, demanding their belongings at gunpoint before fleeing south on Laflin with the stolen items. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
Subsequent investigations linked this robbery to a series of violent thefts that began on Thursday morning. The pattern included an ambush of a woman in West Town, a robbery at Rush University Medical Center’s parking garage, and multiple incidents of armed robberies and attempted robberies involving the same gray Infiniti.
The swift actions of law enforcement in apprehending the suspected robbery crew underscore the commitment to ensuring the safety and security of Chicago residents. The collaborative efforts of the police force and the valuable intelligence gathered during the investigation have led to significant progress in curbing this wave of criminal activity.