COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Four women accused of wielding a 9-inch comb they passed off as a gun in robberies across the city were held on hefty bonds Thursday after police picked them up at a gas station.
Alicia Jenkins, 27, of the 1600 block of West 81st Street, and Triana Jackson, 28, of the 14000 block of Kilpatrick Avenue in southwest suburban Crestwood were charged with aggravated robbery.
Casha Russell, 27, of the 5800 block of West Gunnison Street, and Montoya Perry, 20, of the 4800 block of West Cortland Street, were charged with aggravated robbery and identity theft.
Police arrested the women Wednesday at a BP gas station in the 1200 block of West Belmont Avenue, prosecutors said, when they noticed a gray four-door Ford Taurus wanted in connection to an earlier robbery.
About 9 p.m. Tuesday, the women got out of that vehicle in the 2900 block of North Lakewood Avenue and approached a 34-year-old woman on the sidewalk, prosecutors said.
Claiming they were "armed with a dangerous weapon," the women brandished a 9-inch plastic comb designed to look like a handgun, prosecutors said.
The women then proceeded to rough up the victim and steal a backpack, a Nine West wallet, credit cards and ID cards. According to court documents, the victim was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital for bruising and soreness.
That robbery came just five days after Perry and Russell stole a woman's purse at Second City, 1616 N. Wells St., and used her credit cards at a Walgreens, prosecutors said.
On March 7, Russell allegedly told a Second City employee she was hoping to enroll her child in classes, while Perry used the distraction to steal a purse, prosecutors said.
The women were caught on camera using stolen credit cards at a nearby Walgreens — a MasterCard for Russell and a Fifth Third Bank card for Perry, prosecutors said.
A police search of the Ford Taurus revealed credit cards and a Social Security card that didn’t belong to any of the women, court documents said.
Jenkins, who has two felony convictions, was ordered held on $325,000 bond Thursday. With one felony conviction, Jackson’s bond was set at $250,000.
Perry, who has three convictions and an outstanding warrant, was held on $300,000 bail. And Russell, whose five convictions include forgery, was held on $350,000 bail.
All four women are scheduled to appear in court again Wednesday.
