Aurora man charged with 2 armed robberies, suspected in more
A 43-year-old man has been arrested and charged with an armed robbery and an armed robbery attempt in Aurora in late November and is suspected of others, police said.
Reginald M. Parker, of the 600 block of Tinley Drive, Aurora, faces felony charges in the Nov. 21 armed robbery at the Family Dollar Store, 890 N. Farnsworth Ave., and the attempted robbery of a 7-Eleven, 1790 N. Farnsworth Ave., on Nov. 25.
"He is a suspect in several additional robberies that have occurred in and around Aurora," police said.
In the Family Dollar robbery, a masked and armed Parker is accused of entering the store at about 8:20 p.m. and demanding money from the 29-year-old clerk. The employee handed Parker an undisclosed amount of money, and Parker ran north from the store, police said.
Four days later, police said, a masked and armed Parker went into the 7-Eleven at about 9:15 p.m. and demanded money from the 57-year-old female clerk. But she refused to turn over any money or even open the register, so Parker left.
No one was injured in either case.
Detectives homed in on Parker after getting his SUV license plate off security videos in the attempted 7-Eleven robbery, and authorities Dec. 4 set up surveillance of Parker at a St. Charles fast food restaurant he managed on the 2100 block of West Main Street.
Authorities tried to pull him over that night after he left work, but the chase was stopped after he turned west onto Sullivan Road in Aurora from southbound on Lake Street, police said.
Parker was arrested Tuesday in Yorkville in an unrelated incident, police said, and two replica handguns, a mask and other items were found in his vehicle. He also faces felony fleeing and eluding charges from Dec. 4, records show.
Two suspects were arrested Tuesday in the robbery of the Old Second National Bank branch in Batavia after a chase that went through Aurora and ended in Yorkville. One suspect, Melissa Fitzgerald, 26, of Portage, Indiana, has been charged specifically in that case so far.
If convicted in all three cases, he faces a punishment ranging from 11 years to 48 years in prison.
Parker is being held at the Kane County jail on $1 million bail, meaning he must post $100,000 to be released while the cases are pending. He is next due in court on Dec. 20.