COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A man accused in a string of armed liquor- and grocery-store robberies was arrested this week after three law enforcement agencies teamed up to capture him.
Though Angelo Stanton, 27, is charged in just four crimes, FBI agents believe the man could be linked to as many as 16 robberies.
Stanton appeared in bond court Thursday, where Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. dubbed Stanton "a danger to the community" before denying the man bail.
According to prosecutors, Stanton was carrying a gun when he robbed a Logan Square store in the 1900 block of North California Avenue on Sep. 13.
Stanton forced customers to lie on the ground as he stole $200 cash from the register, Assistant State's Attorney Erin Antonietti said during a bond hearing Friday. The attack was captured on surveillance footage, and Stanton later confessed to the robbery.
Several weeks later, on Oct. 4, Stanton fired a gun while attempting to rob a store in the 2900 block of West North Avenue, Antonietti said.
Stanton entered the store about 10:50 p.m. and demanded cash, but someone inside the building began hitting Stanton on the head with a bottle, prosecutors said. Stanton allegedly fired a single shot toward the attacker — and missed — before fleeing the store without any money.
That incident was also captured on video.
A week later, on Oct. 11, Stanton popped up in the 1800 block of North Pulaski Road, where he is accused of trying to rob another store at gunpoint.
In this case, Stanton forced all of the shop's customers into a corner before demanding cash from a cashier, Antonietti said. Stanton fired one shot near the cashier before leaving the store without any proceeds, according to prosecutors. Stanton confessed to this attack.
Later that same day, Stanton tried to rob a Wicker Park store in the 1500 block of North Leavitt Street — but was stopped by police who were surveilling his red 1998 Ford Explorer, which had been connected to several local robberies, according to prosecutors and court records.
Police arrested Stanton about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday, an arrest report shows. He was carrying a .32 caliber handgun loaded with five live rounds and one spent cartridge, Antonietti said.
Stanton confessed to police he was planning on robbing a store on that block, prosecutors said.
Stanton was previously convicted of armed robbery in Arizona in 2010 and sentenced to seven years in prison, according to Antonietti. He also has a prior conviction for damage to property.
Stanton, of the 3700 block of West McLean Avenue, now faces charges of armed robbery, attempted armed robbery, aggravated discharge of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.
A spokesman for the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force — which is comprised of FBI agents, Chicago Police officers and Cook County sheriff's deputies — said "logical fugitive investigative work" helped capture Stanton.
Jaime Borges, a cashier at Crespo's, a corner liquor store at 2147 W. North Ave., not too far from where Stanton was arrested, confirmed that Stanton was planning to rob Crespo's on Tuesday when he was arrested.
“It makes me feel good he is caught," Borges said. "[Stanton] would have done this again on a weekly basis. I heard he was doing this on Tuesday nights around the same time at different stores."
A Wicker Park resident who was coming back home in a taxi at the same that Stanton was parking his car in an alley just north of North Avenue and Leavitt Street said Stanton was blocking the alley and "did not get very far" before police swarmed the man.
"I saw him parking his car and take off and go through the intersection," the witness said. "Police were on to him. There were five or six cars; two were unmarked. Somehow they knew he was there. He was getting ready to get out of his car but when he saw all the police he tried to drive away."
The witness said Stanton was only able to drive south through the intersection, and then his car was blocked by cops at the first alley on Leavitt Street just south of North Avenue, near a Divvy station located next to Crespo's.
"I will say police did a really good at getting him without firing any shots," the witness said.
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