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RadioShack Robbers Thwarted by GPS in Stolen Cellphone: Prosecutors

By Erin Meyer | May 15, 2014 5:29pm
 Carlos Nunez (l.) and Anthony Sanchez, two parolees, were busted by police after robbing a McKinley Park RadioShack thanks to a GPS tracking system in one of the stolen cellphones.
Carlos Nunez (l.) and Anthony Sanchez, two parolees, were busted by police after robbing a McKinley Park RadioShack thanks to a GPS tracking system in one of the stolen cellphones.
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Chicago Police Department

COOK CRIMINAL COUNTY COURTHOUSE —  The GPS tracking system installed in a stolen cellphone led police directly to two parolees charged with knocking over a McKinley Park RadioShack, prosecutors said.

Carlos Nunez, Anthony Sanchez, both of Berwyn, were charged with aggravated robbery after prosecutors say they ripped off more than $15,000 in merchandise from the RadioShack at 3150 S. Ashland Ave. on Wednesday.

With their female accomplice waiting outside in the car, Nunez and Sanchez walked into the RadioShack wearing sunglasses, hats and gloves, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said.

Sanchez, 43, was carrying a black bag, and Nunez, 34, held what appeared to be a gun, she said.

The two forced a young woman working at the counter to the back of the store and demanded that she help them load electronics into the bag, Scaduto said.

They took off in the waiting vehicle, Scaduto said. But police quickly caught up to them using GPS enabled in one of the cellphones "used in incidents such as this," Scaduto said.

The getaway driver allegedly refused to pull over until the vehicle got a flat tire.

Police recovered some of the merchandise, but the accused robbers threw much of it out the car window when they were fleeing, Scaduto said. The gun Nunez had turned out to be a replica, she said.

Nunez and Sanchez, both on parole from the Illinois Department of Corrections, were ordered held on $300,000 bail Thursday. Their alleged getaway driver, Brenda Villareal, 34, of Lyons, was also charged with aggravated robbery; her bail information was not available Thursday evening.