CHICAGO — Four men have been arrested and charged in separate robberies on the Near West Side last month, officials said.
The robberies happened at a variety of locations, and the victims included at least two University of Illinois at Chicago students, the university said in a statement.
On Jan. 30, a man allegedly broke into an apartment on the 900 block of South Racine Avenue. A UIC student called police after he noticed the man forcing his way inside. While that student escaped unharmed, his roommate came home and saw the man, who then robbed the roommate, the statement said.
The man fled after hearing sirens but was caught several blocks away.
Henry Hunt, 44, of Austin, was charged with four counts of burglary and one count of robbery, university officials and Chicago police said.
In a separate incident, Everett Vaughn, 32, also of Austin, allegedly robbed a Shell gas station at the corner of Van Buren and Racine on Jan. 14. The station has been the target of a series of robberies since November, the UIC statement said.
Chicago police could not immediately provide information on any other robberies at the Shell.
Witnesses and surveillance footage assisted police in tracking Vaughn down, university officials said. He was arrested Jan. 26 and charged with two counts of armed robbery, and police said he was a suspect in "several other area robberies,'' the statement said.
On Jan. 24, two teenagers were robbed at gunpoint near Sheridan Park in Little Italy, Officer Thomas Sweeney, a Chicago police spokesman said.
Quinten Tucker, 20, of University Village, and Marlon E. Jackson, 21, of the 6200 block of West Englewood, were both charged with two felony counts of armed robbery in the incident, police said.
The UIC statement also said that two suspects thought to be involved in a 9:30 a.m. Jan. 16 robbery of a UIC student — which also took place near Sheridan Park at Polk and Aberdeen streets — had been taken into custody.
However, a Chicago police spokeswoman said Friday that no one has been charged in that incident.
The victim was walking east on Polk when an unknown male approached from the front, displayed a handgun and demanded her possessions, according to a police report. The victim said an accomplice helping the male was positioned behind her, police said.
The victim surrendered her mobile phone and cash from her wallet. The suspects fled westbound on Polk.
“These arrests demonstrate the effectiveness of the collaboration between UIC Police and the Chicago Police on our joint robbery task force,” UIC Police Chief Kevin Booker said in the statement. “But the arrests would not have been possible without the active cooperation of crime victims and witnesses in promptly and accurately reporting crime to us. Security requires teamwork.”
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