Two teens charged in Aurora taxi robbery

Two Aurora teens were charged Wednesday in connection with the early morning robbery of a taxi driver on Aurora’s far northeast side, authorities said.

Lilderries I. Thompson, 17, of the 100 block of North Ohio Street, and his 16-year-old male accomplice both were charged with aggravated robbery after the holdup in a commercial parking lot on the 2900 block of Kirk Road, Aurora police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said in a news release.

Authorities said the 33-year-old cabdriver called 911 about 12:10 a.m. to report he had been robbed at gunpoint by two males who approached his taxi while he was parked in the lot. One of the robbers ordered him to get out of the cab, lie on the ground and surrender his money.

The driver said he followed orders and handed over an undisclosed amount of cash to the pair.

The two teens ran south through the parking lot toward Farnsworth Avenue and Butterfield Road, authorities said.

Just before the robbery, two Aurora police officers had been sent to a gas station on the 1500 block of Butterfield Road and as they were handling that call they spotted the two teens walking south. They ended up taking both suspects into custody without incident on the 2700 block of North Farnsworth, Ferrelli said in the release.

Police said they recovered the stolen money and found what turned out to be a pellet pistol a short time later on the median along Farnsworth where authorities believe one of the teens pitched it.

Thompson was charged as an adult while the 16-year-old was referred to Kane County Juvenile Court Services and released to his parents. Court dates for the two were not immediately available.