WEST RIDGE — A three-man crew looking to rip off people outside a West Ridge bank targeted an 88-year-old man carrying a big bag full of coins, snatching it from him and getting away — even though the elderly man briefly chased after them.
The victim, who planned to use the money to fix his hot water heater, didn't go quietly, but he fell during the chase and broke his nose when he hit the ground.
The retired machinist remains in good spirits — even though he somewhat regrets chasing the robber.
“I was very lucky," Peter Meyn said. "I’m 88 years of age and I hit the concrete very hard. It could have been much worse.”
It happened on the morning of March 22 as Meyn approached Devon Bank at 6445 N. Western Ave. with the bag of change, estimated to have about $120 inside.
“I think they made a big mistake,” Meyn said. “Many times I see those businessmen with big bags, and they have more than just change, they have a couple thousand dollars, you know. They were out for a big haul, they didn’t think it was a little old guy with a bag of change.”
Meyn said police told him three men had been in on the ambush using an organized scheme. One man stands with a cellphone watching for victim. A second man waits nearby with a getaway car, and a third man carries out the attack.
The man who grabbed the money was described as man in his 20s wearing a gray hoodie. He grabbed the money and ran — with Meyn chasing him.
“The instinct sent me after him,” said Meyn, who served in World War II on the German side before immigrating to America. “I went after him without thinking. Many people freeze, I didn’t freeze, but I should have.”
Meyn's son, Kurt Meyn, 47, said his father was going to use the change to repair his hot water heater, though the loss of money was not a critical issue.
Meyn broke his nose and scraped off skin on his hands and knees when he fell chasing after the robber. He was sent to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston for treatment and was released the same day, police said.
Meyn's encounter at Devon Bank wasn't the first in recent months.
In December, Father Jim Barrett of St. Margaret Mary's Parish down the street, was robbed of more than $8,000 just feet from the front door by a man wearing pajamas.
Barrett said he, too, was walking to the front door to make a deposit when he was tackled by the man.
Police are still investigating the latest robbery. No one is in custody.
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