A man armed with a handgun made off with the cash drawer of the register at the Subway restaurant at 8330 Cermak Road in North Riverside on March 11 at about 3:15 p.m.
An employee at the store told police that a man walked into the store and stood at the register. When the employee motioned for the man to come to the other end of the counter to order his food, the man pulled a black handgun from his jacket pocket and pointed it at the employee, saying, ‘Give me all the money.”
The employee walked to the register and placed the cash drawer on the counter. The offender then placed the gun back in his pocket, took the money from the drawer and left in a silver vehicle that had no front license plate.
The entire incident took about 30 seconds, according to police, who reviewed a surveillance video from the store. Shortly after the call came into police, officers stopped a silver vehicle at Desplaines Avenue and Roosevelt Road in Forest Park, but the driver and two passengers were released.
The suspect was described as a black male, about 5-foot-8, unshaven, wearing eye glasses, a dark jacket, a black baseball cap with a straight brim, dark pants and a white shirt with a large red cross on the front. He was also wearing gloves.@
Child solicited in Brookfield
A 14-year-old girl told Brookfield police that on March 11 at around noon a man driving a silver vehicle pulled up to her while she was standing in the parking lot of Dunkin Donuts, 9200 Ogden Ave.
The man reportedly asked the girl, ‘Do you want to make out or give me a lap dance?” The girl got on her bike and rode away, but the vehicle reportedly followed her northbound on Maple Avenue until the vehicle was stopped at the train crossing.
The driver of the vehicle was described as a white male, about 30 to 40 years old, with a light beard and possibly wearing a plaid shirt or coat.@
Riverside man charged in shooting
Romeoville police arrested Riverside resident Alberto Cotto at his home in the 500 block of Kent Road in late February, charging him in connection with a shooting in that southwest suburb last November.
Cotto was one of three people arrested by Romeoville police and charged with two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm and two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm. The charges stem from a Nov. 6, 2011 incident where two innocent bystanders were struck by bullets fired just after 1:30 a.m.
Romeoville Patch reported that a 54-year-old woman was struck in the arm with a bullet that penetrated the wall of her home while another bullet hit a 29-year-old man walking down a sidewalk. The bullet hit the man in the leg. A third bullet hit another home on the same block.
Police at the time called the shooting the result of an argument between gang members, according to Romeoville Patch, which added that police are still looking for a fourth suspect.
Cotto, 38, along with Romeoville residents Angel Rivera and Ann Marie Rosado, remain in Will County Jail awaiting a March 19 court date. Bail for Cotto and Rivera was set at $100,000, while Rosadofs bail was set at $50,000.
Romeoville police executed a search warrant at Cottofs Riverside residence at 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 24, said Riverside Detective Sgt. David Krull.
Pawn shop burglarized again
For the second time in two months a North Riverside pawn shop was burglarized by a crew of men who smashed out a front window and removed bags of items from the storefs display cases, all in the span of about two minutes.
According to the police report, the storefs alarm company noted the activation of the alarm at E-Z Pawn, 7361 25th St., on March 8 at 4:53 a.m., but North Riverside police did not receive notification from the alarm company until almost 10 minutes later.
When police arrived, they saw a front plate-glass window smashed out and a rock lying on the floor inside the store. Surveillance footage showed that four men in two vehicles were involved in the break in.
Once inside, the men scooped up items including cameras and cellphones, a large speaker and a large box possibly containing a guitar before leaving. An attempt to gain entry to the cashierfs area was unsuccessful.
The business was also burglarized in a similar fashion on the same day of the week at almost exactly the same time of day by five men on Jan. 5. Police were not notified of the alarm activation for about 10 minutes in that case as well.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, March 5-March 11, 2012, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.
-Compiled by Bob Uphues
