Two people, one of them armed with a silver handgun, robbed a Brookfield gas station minimart on the night of April 1, making off with an unknown amount of cash.

According to police, the two entered the Clark gas station minimart art 3045 Maple Ave., just after 8:10 p.m. within a few seconds of one another and selected items from coolers in the back before approaching the counter as if to pay for them.

While one offender was at the counter paying for a bottle of water, the second placed a six-pack of beer on the counter and pulled out a handgun and pointed to the cash drawer, which the clerk opened.

The gunman grabbed the cash drawer out of the register and both offenders took cash from it before the two walked the clerk into the back office, where another employee was sitting in a chair.

The two ordered the employees to the ground, with the gunman reportedly punching the front counter clerk in the face. When police arrived, they reported the clerk’s right temple area was red and swollen.

Security video reportedly showed the two offenders leave the minimart and cross 31st Street before walking southbound down the 3100 block of Elm Avenue.

Arrest in stolen vehicle recovery

A 21-year-old Chicago woman faces felony charges after allegedly driving a stolen vehicle to the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, on March 31.

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charging Taja Thompson with possession of a stolen motor vehicle after she and two others were arrested inside the mall shortly after their arrival was signaled to police by one of the mall’s Flock surveillance cameras at about 6:15 p.m.

Thompson reportedly parked the 2017 Kia Forte, which was reported stolen in Chicago on March 27, outside the food court entrance. Police found the vehicle unoccupied and unlocked, noting that the steering column had been peeled away.

By viewing surveillance camera video, police were able to identify three suspects, who exited the vehicle. Police charged a juvenile and a 20-year-old Chicago man with misdemeanor criminal trespass to a motor vehicle.

Thompson reportedly told police she didn’t know how the vehicle had been obtained, but admitted to starting it using a screwdriver, which police found in her possession.

Aggravated speeding

North Riverside police charged a 40-year-old Chicago man with aggravated speeding after an officer on patrol reported clocking his silver Toyota Avalon traveling at 66 mph in a 35-mph zone while southbound in the 2400 block of First Avenue on April 2 at about 11:45 p.m.

The driver will appear for a hearing date on the misdemeanor charge at the Maybrook courthouse on May 22.

Check scam averted

A 74-year-old Brookfield woman and her 42-year-old son went to Brookfield police on March 28 to report receiving a fraudulent check in the mail that they immediately suspected to be part of a scam.

The check arrived in a UPS Next Day Air envelope, addressed to the son in the amount of $4,859. The check came with vaguely worded instructions to deposit the check, make purchases and provide documentation of those actions.

The two went to Citibank, the purported issuing bank for the check, and an employee there confirmed it was fraudulent. A tracking number on the envelope indicated it had been sent on March 27 from Atlanta.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, March 27-April 2, 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