Man charged with armed robbery, kidnapping at Palatine business

A North Chicago man has been charged with armed robbery and kidnapping in connection with a holdup Wednesday in Palatine.

Christopher E. Brackens, 40, of the 1400 block of Broadway Avenue, is scheduled to appear in bond court Saturday in Chicago.

Palatine police said that at 7:55 a.m., officers responding to a commercial holdup alarm on the 100 block of West Northwest Highway found a masked man leaving the back door of a business.

They apprehended the man, identified as Brackens, after a short chase.

When officers returned to the business to look for additional suspects, they located an employee who had been bound with plastic ties.

Police said Brackens had gained entry to the business before the employee arrived and waited. Brackens instructed the employee to

open the safe and then tied the employee up, police said.