COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Two teens who stole candy at gunpoint were arrested in Gage Park on Sunday after police followed their snowy footprints to a nearby hideout, prosecutors said.
Ricardo Moreno, 19, and Xavier Romero, 15, walked into a gas station convenience store at 2706 W. 51st St. shortly before 7 a.m. Sunday, Assistant State's Attorney Jeanne Kolasa said.
While Moreno stood guard at the front door, prosecutors said, Romero tried to convince the store clerk, who was working at a counter behind bulletproof glass, to meet him in the chip aisle.
As the clerk started to leave the bulletproof enclosure, Kolasa said, Romero pulled a chrome .357 revolver. The clerk was able to duck behind the counter and call police.
Romero tried to place the gun in the slot where money is exchanged before he grabbed some candy and ran from the store, Kolasa said.
When police arrived, prosecutors said, they followed fresh footprints in the snow to Moreno's nearby apartment. Both Moreno and Romero were caught on gas station surveillance footage.
Romero, who was charged as an adult, is on probation for attempted robbery and had another robbery case pending in juvenile court, prosecutors said. Moreno was on parole after being sentenced to a year in prison for drug possession, and also served time for a juvenile robbery charge from 2012, prosecutors said.
Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil on Monday ordered each teen held in lieu of $300,000 bail.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
