Chicago police have charged three teens in connection with a five-armed robbery spree last month that lasted less than an hour.
Police said the crimes started at 6:30 a.m. on June 12 in the Oakland neighborhood, when the teens approached a woman with a stun gun and demanded her car keys. They drove away in her vehicle, leaving behind another vehicle that had been reported stolen from a nearby suburb.
The teens used the stolen vehicle to commit four more armed robberies with the stun gun, the latest of which was reported at 7:10 a.m.
The Chicago Police Department’s Helicopter Unit pursued the criminals until they crashed their stolen vehicle in the Riverdale area. According to police, the teens raced into a nearby residence and were detained by SWAT teams and patrol officers from the 5th District.
The suspects include a 13-year-old boy, a 16-year-old boy, and a 17-year-old kid. Each has been charged with:
- One felony count of aggravated vehicular hijacking
- Three felony counts of armed robbery with a firearm
- Four felony counts of armed robbery with another dangerous weapon
- One felony count of attempted armed robbery with another dangerous weapon
- One felony count of aggravated battery in a public place
Police said victim accounts, as well as video and physical evidence, assisted the Citywide Robbery Task Force in obtaining charges against the youths.