- Several carjackings, armed robberies within 2-hour span on Chicago’s North and West sides: police WGN TV Chicago
- Chicago TV Crew Robbed Of Cameras While Reporting On Recent Robbery Surge Outkick
- At least 6 carjackings, armed robberies within 2-hour span on Chicago’s North and West sides: police WGN News
- Chicago crime: Police investigating string of armed robberies, carjackings in South Loop, Northwest Side WLS-TV
- Robberies in Chicago: University of Chicago police issue alert about 5 armed robbery incidents in Hyde Park, Kenwood WLS-TV
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: robberies
Atlanta Falcons’ Calvin Ridley among targets of gang-related celebrity home robberies, according to indictment
A prosecutor on Monday announced a sprawling indictment targeting members of what she said is a violent street gang that has been targeting the Atlanta-area homes of famous athletes — including Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley — entertainers and others who flaunt expensive possessions on social media.
Ridley, singer Mariah Carey, Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan and Marlo Hampton of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” all had their homes broken into, the indictment says.
The 220-count indictment was filed Aug. 22 and charges 26 people, most of whom are accused of violating Georgia’s anti-gang and racketeering laws.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said the crimes alleged in the indictment — carjacking, kidnapping, armed robbery, shootings, home invasions — were committed by members of the Drug Rich gang, which she said began to emerge in 2016 in a neighboring county. In addition to the celebrity targets, social media influencers were also victimized in home invasions and burglaries, Willis said.
“What they do is target people who show their wealth on social media,” she said. “So I do have a message for the public: Where it is kind of fun to put your things on social media and show off, unfortunately these gangs are becoming more savvy, more sophisticated in the way that they target you.”
Willis also had a message for the alleged gang members: “If you thought Fulton was a good county to bring your crime to, to bring your violence to, you are wrong and you are going suffer consequences and today is the start of some of those consequences.”
Ridley’s Instagram account includes multiple images that appear to show him wearing expensive jewelry. The former second-team All-Pro currently is serving an indefinite suspension and will miss at least the entire 2022 season for gambling on NFL games last season.
Willis said the indictment, filed last week, represented a collaboration between law enforcement agencies. Cracking down on gangs is a priority for Willis, and she said she intends to pursue tough penalties for people involved with violent gang activity.
“I am not going to negotiate with gang members. I am not going to allow pleas,” she said. “We are going to find you, we are going to convict you and we’re going to send you to the prison for the rest of your days, and I’m not apologizing for that.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Los Angeles ‘flash mob’ of looters caught on video ransacking 7-Eleven
A “flash mob” of looters were caught on camera ransacking a 7-Eleven in Los Angeles earlier this week — making off with handfuls of cigarettes, snacks and other goods, authorities said.
Video clips released by Los Angeles police show dozens of people, many of them not bothering to hide their faces, grabbing up various items as they swarmed the chain store Monday shortly after midnight in the Harbor Gateway section of the city.
Part of the footage even shows the rowdy bunch going behind the counter that was apparently vacated by 7-Eleven employees and flinging items toward a pack of people on the other side.
Snacks, drinks, cigarettes, lottery tickets and other merchandise were all lifted from the store that also was vandalized, according to police. Looters also allegedly threw items at store employees.
After exiting the store, the throngs of suspects quickly left the area before cops arrived, police said.
The robberies occurred during a street takeover where drivers flooded and blocked a city intersection with their vehicles from all directions to create a “pit” in the middle of it, police said.
Spectators got out of their cars and watched as drivers started “doing donuts,” authorities said.
“The term ‘flash mob’ was first used to describe a large public gathering at which people perform an unusual or seemingly random act and then disperse, typically organized by means of the internet or social media,” the LAPD said in a statement.
“In the latest cases, however, ‘flash mobs’ have turned from fun spontaneous events to opportunistic criminal occurrences.”
Police were seeking the public’s help in apprehending the suspects.
California liquor store owner shoots would-be armed robber
An elderly convenience store owner in California is being hailed as a hero after he shot at a would-be robber who ran out of the store screaming his arm was “shot off.”
Shocking surveillance footage from Norco Market & Liquor at the 2800 block of Clark Avenue in Norco, Calif., showed a masked assailant entering the business at about 2:47 a.m. with an AR-15-style rifle pointed at the 80-year-old store owner.
The suspect yelled, “Freeze, hands in the air,” but within seconds, the quick-thinking store owner pulled out his own rifle from under the counter and immediately shot once at the robber, hitting him in the arm.
Video footage further showed another man getting out of a black BMW SUV, but he stopped and got back inside the vehicle once he saw the first suspect run out of the store repeatedly screaming, “He shot my arm off!”
Riverside County Sheriff’s officials arrested three suspects— Justin Johnson, 22, of Inglewood, Calif., Jamar Williams, 27, of Los Angeles, and Davon Broadus, of Las Vegas, Nevada— at a local hospital.
The primary suspect, a 23-year-old man, remained in critical but stable condition at the hospital, officials said. His identity is being withheld pending his release from the hospital.
“In this case, a lawfully armed member of our community prevented a violent crime and ensured their own safety, while being confronted with multiple armed suspects,” Riverside County Sheriff’s said in a press release. “This investigation is active and ongoing and no additional information will currently be released.”
Employees at Norco Market & Liquor said the owner was watching the store cameras as the SUV pulled into the parking lot. Once he saw the first assailant get out of the SUV and pull a mask over his face, the owner immediately went for his rifle.
“He just prepared himself … and he stood right here, aimed and shot,” store manager Marnia Tapia told Fox11.
Employees said the owner was not at the store on Monday, but Fox11 reported the man suffered a heart attack right after the shooting. He is expected to recover and will be discharged from the hospital sometime Monday night.
Sheriff’s officials said the SUV used in the attempted robbery was stolen and numerous stolen firearms also were found inside the vehicle.
Johnson, Williams and Broadus were booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside for robbery and conspiracy. They are being held in jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.
The primary suspect also will be booked at the facility once he is released from the hospital, officials said.
7-Eleven encourages Los Angeles-area stores to close for a 2nd night following armed robberies at 6 locations
Authorities are still working to determine whether the robberies that happened Monday at six 7-Eleven locations are connected, police said.
“Our hearts remain with the victims and their loved ones, and our focus continues to be on Franchisee, associate and customer safety,” a 7-Eleven corporate spokesperson told CNN on Tuesday. “With that in mind, we have encouraged stores in the Los Angeles area to close again tonight.”
The robberies unfolded early Monday morning across stores in Santa Ana, La Habra, Brea, Riverside, Upland and Ontario, California, according to police.
Police in Brea and La Habra are “confident” the shootings in their jurisdictions are connected, saying they’re in communication with other agencies.
A store employee at the 7-Eleven in Brea was killed after he was shot, the police department said Monday. Another person was killed at the 7-Eleven location at Santa Ana, a police spokesperson told CNN.
“Based on the photo released we believe it is the same suspect,” the spokesperson said.
Two other people were shot during the robbery at the location in La Habra and taken to the hospital, police said during a news conference.
Meanwhile, a 7-Eleven customer was shot at after a gunman entered the store in Riverside, “brandished a firearm and robbed the clerk,” a police spokesperson said. That victim was taken to a local hospital, where they were in “grave condition.”
“Our hearts are with the victims and their loved ones. We are gathering information on this terrible tragedy and working with local law enforcement,” 7-Eleven said Monday in a statement.
In Upland, police said no shots were fired and no one was injured during the robbery at 7-Eleven. And in Ontario, California, the gunman demanded money while showing a gun and didn’t fire his gun.
Wild video shows smoke shop worker in shootout with thieves
Shocking video shows a California smoke shop security guard pull a gun on group of would-be robbers, sparking a four-on-one shootout that left one person dead Tuesday, cops and reports said.
The worker stands behind a counter at a “Smoke Shop” in Compton and appears to take a shot to the face as he pulls a gun from his belt, according to the video, released Wednesday by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The four alleged thieves scramble and trip over each other as they flee to the back of the store and continue firing shots – sometimes apparently inches from each other’s bodies.
The worker, who is wearing a “security” vest, ducks for cover as a bullet causes the glass display case to shatter, the silent video shows.
The guard somehow managed to escape despite the onslaught, cops said, though he was treated in the hospital with gunshot wounds to the head and neck.
Two of the robbers, identified as Kahlel Lundy, 23, and Keith Rachel, 21, remain on the loose and are wanted for murder, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.
The botched robbery began at 6:54 p.m. Tuesday at the shop on South Wilmington Avenue, the release stated. About 30 minutes after the incident, police responded to a gunshot victim at Martin Luther King Hospital that turned out to be one of the robbers who’d been shot by the security guard, the release said.
That unidentified person died from his wounds, Fox News reported. A second suspect, who also wasn’t named, was arrested Wednesday, according to the release.
Los Angeles street gangs targeting wealthy in rash of robberies: LAPD
Over a dozen street gangs in Los Angeles have set their sights on wealthy residents in the city as part of a disturbing, violent robbery pattern that has victimized hundreds of people, police said Tuesday.
At least 17 street gangs based mostly in South Central Los Angeles had staged more than 200 strong-arm robberies in the past 15 months, with five occurring this week, police said.
“In my 34 years in the LAPD, I have never seen this type of [coordinated] criminal behavior,” said LAPD Capt. Jonathan Tippet, leader of a “follow-home robbery” task force.
The criminal’s often used spotters to track people wearing high-end watches or driving expensive cars in the city’s upscale neighborhoods. The crooks then have associates follow the targets to steal their jewelry, handbags or cars, Tippet said.
“We have seen countless individuals traumatized by having a gun pointed at them,” he added.
“Many others are dealing with the trauma and injuries from being tackled, kicked, beaten, punched and are pistol-whipped to the head.”
On Monday, a woman was hit by a robber’s car when she tried to run off after they smashed her vehicle window while stopped at a red light.
The thieves made off with her Rolex after she tossed it in the street, security footage showed.
In another instance, a suspect was arrested for allegedly taking two watches worth $600,000 from a targeted victim, according to authorities.
Thirteen victims had been shot in “follow-home robberies” since the start of last year, and two of them were killed, officials said.
Many of the attacks took place in the city’s Jewelry District and the LAPD’s Hollywood and Wilshire Divisions, according to police.
Several dozen people had been arrested by the task force for robbery, weapons crimes, attempted murder and suspicion of murder, officials said.
With Post wires
SEPTA robberies: Suspect wanted in connection with armed robberies in Center City Philadelphia taken into custody
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A suspect wanted in connection with three gunpoint robberies at SEPTA stations in Center City was taken into custody on Sunday night, according to officials.
The suspect is accused of working both in a group and on his own on Saturday.
Authorities say the male suspect and two others are accused of holding up someone at gunpoint around 2 p.m. in the concourse connecting City Hall and 15th Street Stations.
The same man also allegedly robbed someone at gunpoint at 30th Street Station along the Market-Frankford Line just after 9 p.m.
Then a short time later, authorities say he held two people at gunpoint while forcing them to withdraw money from an ATM at the 30th Street Market-Frankford Line Station.
“From all appearances, these seem to be crimes of opportunity,” said SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch.
No injuries were reported in connection with robberies.
Police say two other males who were with the suspect have also been taken into custody.
Copyright © 2022 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
14 suspects arrested in LA smash-and-grab robberies
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Los Angeles police have arrested 14 suspects in connection with a series of smash-and-grab robberies at local stores last month.
Police say there were at least 11 such robberies around Los Angeles in the week leading up to Thanksgiving, resulting in the theft of some $338,000 in retail goods.
Many of them involved flash mobs who swoop in quickly to a retail store, like Nordstrom at the Grove, smash glass cases and grab as many items as they can before fleeing.
The 14 arrests were linked to five such incidents. Three arrests resulted after a long, high-speed chase in which officers caught the suspects with car full of stolen merchandise.
Police acknowledged that after the arrests, all 14 suspects are now free again, under no-and-low bail policies that have been enacted in Los Angeles County recently. At least one suspect was a juvenile.
Community leaders call for end to smash-and-grab robberies
Most of the merchandise was being resold after the thefts and police are also trying to follow that investigative trail.
In addition to a rash of smash-and-grab robberies, police are also seeing an increase in violent follow-home robberies, in which victims wearing expensive jewelry or making big purchases are followed home and sometimes violently assaulted and robbed.
Police urge the public to take precautions, including remaining aware of your surroundings and not always staring at the phone.
Police are also stepping up patrols in retail areas during the holiday shopping season.
“A rash of these smash-and-grab type crimes have placed community members and store employees in significant danger, due to the violence that’s associated with them,” said LAPD Chief Michel Moore.
In other parts of L.A. County, a recent video going viral that is now the subject of a sheriff’s department investigation shows a group of people with hammers targeting a jewelry booth at the Del Amo swap meet in Rancho Dominguez. Two people were detained and several others got away as the Carson sheriff’s station tries to track them down.
Copyright © 2021 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
French bulldog stolen from Long Island home found 50 miles away
Oh, you lucky dog!
A French bulldog that was stolen from a Long Island home on Thanksgiving has a new leash on life after she was found some 50 miles away.
Matthew Hauck, 34, thanked The Post for coverage that led to his joyous reunion with Stella Saturday afternoon in Center Moriches, an hour away from his Huntington home where the 4-year-old pup was snatched.
“I believe that this outcome would have been much more devastating if The New York Post did not demonstrate such kindness and at least help us get the word out, because I believe the word got out so fast that the people decided they were just going to release Stella,” Hauck said.
Hauck said he and his wife, Jennifer, 35, realized that Stella had been dognapped when they returned home from Thanksgiving dinner around 11 p.m. A Sony PlayStation 5 had also been swiped from their house, Hauck and police said.
The couple began frantically searching for Stella and quickly got the word out to police and the press. A possible sighting that evening at a 7-Eleven in Brentwood turned up nothing, but when two separate tipsters in Center Moriches said they spotted a French bulldog running around their town, Hauck grew hopeful.
Stella had not been wearing her identifying harness because she was sleeping in her home, but after FaceTiming with Stella and her rescuer, Hauck and his wife drove east for a tearful reunion that was caught on camera.
“When we got out there, it became evident very quickly that this was our dog and it was just such a happy reunion to meet such great people. Even the police that worked with us, everyone was hugging,” he said.
Hauck was also grateful for community members who offered up thousands of dollars in reward money and emotional support.
“I hear these stories of these people that were so kind-hearted and in a devastating moment it’s so overwhelming to think that so many people care and it was kind of refreshing to see,” he said.
One family from Queens even spent the day driving around looking for the dog after seeing news coverage of the canine caper.
“I credit you guys as superheroes because a dog story doesn’t always become top news and you guys were able to spread it so quickly and so far,” the proud pup owner gushed to The Post over the phone.
Hauck said he believes the dognapping and burglary was an opportunistic crime committed by thieves looking for empty houses to target during the holiday.
No arrests had been made.