Villa Park man charged in train station robbery

A man claiming to be an undercover police officer robbed a man of $20 while patting him down at the Villa Park train station over the weekend, police said Monday.

David R. Schnittker, 21, of the 400 block of North Douglas Avenue in Villa Park, was charged with aggravated robbery.

About 3 a.m. Saturday, Schnittker stopped a vehicle in the path of a 19-year-old man walking through the parking lot of the Villa Park train station, 349 N. Ardmore Ave., police said.

Schnittker identified himself as an undercover police officer and asked if the victim had stabbed his friend, according to a news release. Schnittker implied he had a gun and rifled through the victim’s pockets, taking $20 before driving away, police said.

Officers pulled over Schnittker a short time later, using a license plate number and suspect description provided by the victim. Schnittker told police “a friend had allegedly been stabbed, and he was looking for the offender,” according to the news release.

Police determined there was no connection between the robbery and a stabbing. They did locate an apparent stabbing victim at a hospital but said the “veracity of that incident” remained under investigation.

Schnittker remained in the DuPage County jail Monday on $100,000 bail. He would have to post $10,000 to be released.