Cops: Six armed robberies may be linked
Police from communities in northern Lake County and southern Wisconsin are expected to meet this week to try to determine whether a string of recent armed robberies are connected.
The investigation comes after Fox Lake and Grayslake police reported armed robberies this weekend, bringing the total to four in northern Lake County in the past 10 days.
The circumstances of the weekend crimes are similar to robberies from late April in Antioch and Lake Villa and the Wisconsin towns of Pleasant Prairie, Trevor and Lake Geneva, officials said.
Most recently, two men walked into a gas station in the 300 block of West Route 173 at about 3 a.m. Sunday, displayed handguns, and demanded money from the cash register, Lt. Jeff Norris of the Fox Lake Police Department said. The men ordered the clerk to place money from the register into a bag before fleeing the store with the undisclosed amount of cash, Norris said. The two ran through the parking lot and across Wilmot Road before disappearing.
A few hours earlier - at about 9 p.m. Saturday - two men walked into a Subway restaurant in the 1800 block of Route 120 in Grayslake, displayed a hand gun and demanded money. After the store clerk put money on the table, the offenders fled on foot, said Cmdr. Matt McCutcheon of the Grayslake Police Department.
The offenders in both weekend heists were described wearing blue jeans and dark-colored hooded sweatshirts. The men in the Fox Lake robbery also wore handkerchiefs over their mouths and sunglasses, Norris added. McCutcheon said it was unclear if the men covered their faces in the Grayslake robbery.
The clothing description matches other robberies in the neighboring towns, both Norris and McCutcheon said.
"We aren't positive that they are all related, but they all sound extremely similar," Norris said. "The clothing, handkerchiefs, sunglasses and the way they acted sound the same in each event."
In Antioch, police said a man entered the Comfort Inn hotel, 350 Route 173, early on April 26 and demanded money. He also wore a hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses, police Cmdr. Jim Ruth said.
Then, three days later in Lake Villa, a man wearing the same type of clothes held up Amber Liquors at 1701 N. Milwaukee just after 9 p.m. However, in that robbery, Lake Villa Police Chief Ron Roth said, the offender sped away in a Lincoln Town Car or Chrysler sedan with Illinois license plates and tinted windows.
"We also spoke with police over the border and they confirmed the same situation happened there," Roth said. "So, we plan to meet and go over information and determine if these crimes are connected."
In the meantime, police said anyone with information should contact their local police agency or the Fox Lake and Grayslake police dispatch center at (847) 587-3100.