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Armed Men Rob 2 Sets of Siblings Within 10 Minutes, Prosecutors Say

By Erica Demarest | January 28, 2016 8:27am | Updated on January 28, 2016 7:14pm
 Arneal Thornton, 19, of East Garfield Park, and Robert Rhodes, 18, of Austin, were involved in four armed robberies, police said.
Arneal Thornton, 19, of East Garfield Park, and Robert Rhodes, 18, of Austin, were involved in four armed robberies, police said.
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COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Two armed men in Little Village robbed two sets of siblings within 10 minutes Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors said.

The first attack happened about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday in the 2600 block of West 23rd Street, court records show.

Two sisters, ages 20 and 23, were walking home from the gym when two armed men stepped out of a green Pontiac Grand Prix and robbed the women at gunpoint, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said during a bond hearing Thursday.

The sisters handed over their cellphones, and the men — later identified as Arneal Thornton, 19, and Robert Rhodes, 18 — got back into their car and drove off, prosecutors said.

Ten minutes later, Thornton and Rhodes robbed two teenage siblings a block away in the 2600 block of West 22nd Place, according to prosecutors.

The men stole two cellphones and cash from a 16-year-old girl and her 15-year-old brother, court records show.

Thornton and Rhodes got back in their 2004 Pontiac and drove off, prosecutors said, while the victims called the police. Officers spotted the car in North Lawndale a short while later.

After a brief chase, Rhodes, who was driving, pulled over into an empty lot in the 3900 block of West Greenshaw Street, according to an arrest report.

Rhodes jumped out of the car and took off running, the report said, but police arrested him a short while later. Thornton stayed put and was arrested in the empty lot, police noted.

Both men are charged with armed robbery.

Cook County Judge Laura Sullivan on Thursday ordered Rhodes, of the 5500 block of West Congress Parkway, and Thornton, of the 3300 block of West Ohio Street, held in lieu of $250,000 each.

Several relatives and friends who attended the bond hearing Thursday began sobbing when Sullivan set bond. One man cupped his hand over his mouth and stared at Sullivan with wide eyes.

Contributing: Kelly Bauer

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