Two men who robbed a North Riverside 7-Eleven on the morning of May 14 fled the scene in a black Mercedes-Benz SUV that had been reported stolen in a carjacking incident in south suburban Homewood about six hours earlier.
Using surveillance camera video, police reported that the SUV pulled up to the 7-Eleven, 9205 Cermak Road, at about 6:05 a.m., parking just east of the front door.
At 6:20 a.m., a Black man wearing a black ski mask, a black hooded sweatshirt with a red rectangular logo on the left chest, black pants, red shoes and clear plastic gloves enters the store.
A second offender, described as a Black man wearing a gray, black and white hooded sweatshirt, a black ski mask, white shoes with black accents and plastic gloves stood by the door as the first entered.
The first offender allegedly pointed a black handgun at the clerk, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to the cash register, demanding money from it. The first offender then handed cash from the register to the offender by the door before both fled the store and drove away in the SUV, eastbound on Cermak Road. The clerk was not physically harmed, police said.
A North Riverside police officer reported spotting the SUV run a red light on eastbound Cermak at Desplaines Avenue. Police pursued the vehicle, but it was last seen headed eastbound on I-290 from Harlem Avenue.
Police say the owner of the black SUV reported he was the victim of an aggravated vehicular hijacking in Homewood that same day at about 1:10 a.m. They also said the vehicle had sustained some front-end damage after it rear ended a Honda as it fled from police in the 1200 block of Harlem Avenue.
Car crashes into hinge factory
Brookfield police issued traffic citations and local ordinance violations tickets to a 22-year-old Burbank woman who reportedly lost control of her 2010 Ford Mustang, which was eastbound on 47th Street, and crashed into the Stocker Hinge Manufacturing Co., 8822 47th St., on May 11 at about 4:45 a.m.
Police say neither drugs nor alcohol played a role in the crash, although they did report recovering 26 grams of cannabis from the vehicle. After some difficulty getting the details on how the crash unfolded, police say the woman eventually said she lost control after reaching for a water bottle that had fallen onto the floor and behind the brake.
When police arrived the driver was alone with the vehicle and she reportedly claimed to have been the only person in the car at the time of the crash. However, security camera video showed someone else exiting the vehicle’s passenger side door after the crash.
Catalytic converter stolen
Brookfield police responded to the intersection of Garfield Avenue and Grand Boulevard on May 14 at about 6:35 a.m. after a resident called to report witnessing the theft of a catalytic converter from a 2015 Hyundai, which was parked on the street in the 9500 block of Garfield Avenue.
The witness said he saw a black SUV parked next to the Hyundai. Two or three men got out and a short time later placed something inside the SUV and drove off westbound.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, May 9-15, 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
