BUCKTOWN — A trio of cellphone robberies that took place within a half-hour span and just a few blocks apart Friday have put some Bucktown business owners on edge.
Kimberly Blackburn, owner of Red June Cafe at 2020 N. Leavitt St., said that around 4:24 p.m. Friday, a group of three young men came into her business.
"I was the only one in there. They came in; I was behind the counter. They grabbed the phone out of my hand and tried to grab my iPad, but it was plugged in," Blackburn said.
Officer Laura Amezaga, a Chicago Police spokeswoman, confirmed the incident and said that the men jumped into a minivan after robbing Blackburn.
The three men were described as black, between age 20 to 25, about 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds. One of the men "wore a white skull cap and had dreadlocks," one wore dark jeans, and the third offender had no clothing description, Amezaga said.
Minutes after the Red June robbery, a mother outside The Nook, a day care at 2151 Armitage Ave., about one block east of the cafe, said she was pushed to the ground and "robbed by three teens or young adults," according to Hannah Mazzie, owner of The Nook.
The mother was on her way to The Nook to pick up her child at 4:30 p.m. when the robbery occurred, Mazzie said.
The men "took her phone, ran into their white van and drove off," Mazzie said.
As a precaution, Mazzie said she sent out an email to parents to warn them to be safe and aware of their surroundings.
Mazzie said she did not have a description of the men outside of the fact they fled in a white van, a detail that she received from her employee, who was onsite with the mom.
Amezaga did not have that report immediately available.
Later in the same hour, around 4:50 p.m., a worker at Asha Salon, 1805 N. Damen Ave., said that a group of six or seven young black males came in and asked to use the bathroom.
The salon worker said that the men were told the bathrooms are only for customers.
"They made a ruckus and were asked to leave and would not leave," the worker said.
The group stayed in the salon for about three minutes and stole two phones from staff members. There were six clients in the salon at the time, the worker said.
"People were shaken up. Telling them we called 911 was enough to get them out," the worker said.
Amezaga said that "6-7 male blacks entered [the salon] and created a diversion at which time offenders took items at location belonging to 2 female victims."
In all three robberies, no one is in custody and area detectives are investigating, police said.
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