Suspect charged in string of suburban armed robberies
A man accused of a string of armed robberies in the Northwest suburbs is being held in DuPage County jail on a $1 million bond, authorities said Tuesday.
Itasca police arrested the man early on Feb. 5 following a robbery at a convenience store on the 900 block of Rohlwing Road.
Dennis D. Manning Jr., 23, with a last known address in Chicago, is charged with one count of armed robbery in DuPage County and five counts of armed robbery in Cook County.
Authorities said his bond has been set at $500,000 for the Cook incidents.
Officials said each count is punishable by six to 30 years in prison.
Convenience store clerks in Schaumburg and Streamwood were on high alert last summer after a man with the same physical description held up several stores armed with a handgun and wearing a mask.
Typically, authorities said, the suspect would enter the store, demand cash from the clerk, then flee on foot before either entering a mid-size black vehicle with an Illinois license plate or getting on a bicycle.
Cook County officials said Manning is charged with convenience store robberies that occurred July 10 and 18, both on the 300 block of Barrington Road in Streamwood; Aug. 9 on the 2300 block of West Bode Road in Schaumburg; Aug. 12 on the 100 block of South Meacham Road in Schaumburg; and Aug. 18 on the 1100 block of South Springinsguth Road in Schaumburg.
No one was injured in any of the robberies. In addition to cash, the suspect also occasionally took cigarettes or DVDs.
Itasca police said they arrested Manning around 2 a.m. Feb. 5 after an officer interrupted a robbery in progress while doing a routine check at the store on Rohlwing Road.
"As the officer came out of his car," Itasca Deputy Chief Robert O'Connor said, "he sees the clerk coming out the front door at a fast pace saying he'd been robbed and the offender was still inside with two customers."
While the suspect was in the backroom, the officer evacuated the customers from the front of the store and called for backup, officials said.
As Itasca police created a perimeter around the building, O'Connor said they realized the suspect slipped out a back door and a 45-minute search ensued.
The officers ultimately located a vehicle where they discovered Manning and the missing cash, officials said. Police wouldn't disclose the amount of money that was taken.
Manning's preliminary hearing in Cook County is at 9 a.m. March 6 at 2121 Euclid Ave. in Rolling Meadows. His next court date in DuPage County was not available, officials said.