Armed robber to Naperville dry cleaner: 'You have 10 seconds. Open the drawer.'
The owner of Young's Cleaners in Naperville did exactly what police advise when his store was robbed Thursday night: He complied with the bandit's request, opened his cash register and let the man leave with the money.
Charles Kwon, who has owned and operated the cleaners at 1665 N. Route 59 since 2003, said he wasn't scared when a white man roughly 5 feet, 8 inches tall entered his store about 6:50 p.m. Kwon said he was alone in the shop just 10 minutes before closing.
"Money is just money," Kwon said Friday morning, just 13 hours after his store was hit with the sixth armed robbery reported in Naperville in less than a month. "My life is more important."
Shortly before the shop was set to close, Kwon said the man walked in alone wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants with a black scarf or ski mask covering his face below his eyes.
The man showed Kwon a handwritten note on a small scrap of paper. In the heat of the moment, Kwon said he didn't read it word for word, but he got the gist.
"It said something like, 'I have a gun, open the drawer,'" Kwon said.
The intruder then pulled up his sweatshirt and showed Kwon a handgun in his belt.
"He told me, 'You have 10 seconds. Open the drawer,'" Kwon said.
When Kwon complied, the man took the cash and ran away heading west. Kwon called 911. By the time police arrived, the man was nowhere to be found. Police are investigating.
The man got away with only about $100, Kwon said, because most customers pay with credit cards.
Kwon said he has never been robbed before, but he followed the advice officers have been giving in the wake of six armed robberies reported in town since Nov. 27. Police are advising people to comply with demands and put safety - not money or property - first.
Police so far have said the recent robberies appear unrelated. Others reported in the past month include:
• An ATM customer who reported being robbed at gunpoint about 9 p.m. Nov. 27 on the 1200 block of Hobson Road by a man wearing all dark clothing.
• A pizza delivery driver who reported being robbed at gunpoint about 10 p.m. Nov. 27 on the 3300 block of South Route 59 by a 6-foot-tall, thin man wearing dark clothing.
• A 7-Eleven store at 1663 N. Route 59 that reported an armed robbery about 8:30 p.m. Nov. 28 by two black men, one about 6 feet tall with a thin build, dark clothing, a mask and a handgun, and the other with a medium build and dark clothing.
• A PNC Bank at 9 E. Ogden Ave. that reported an armed robbery about 1 p.m. Dec. 7 by a white man about 6 feet tall with a small build who appeared to be in his 20s or 30s and wore a black jacket with a hood, a black or tan scarf, sunglasses, black jeans and a cross-body bag.
• A store on the 1800 block of Lisson Road near Wehrli Road that reported an armed robbery about 6 p.m. Dec. 13 by a man of an unknown race who stood about 6 feet tall and wore all black clothing.
Investigators ask anyone with information about any of these cases to call them at (630) 420-6666.