3 Aurora men charged in KFC robbery
Three Aurora men face multiple felony charges in connection with the Thursday night armed robbery of a KFC restaurant in Aurora in which three people were shot, Aurora Police announced Sunday evening.
Claude Jackson, 45, of the 1100 block of Liberty Street; Joshua O. Scott, 26, of the 1800 block of Thornapple Way; and Chase N. West, 19, of the 700 block of Columbia Street were charged with three counts each of attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm and single counts of armed robbery.
According to charging documents, Jackson - armed with a rifle-type firearm - and West entered the restaurant at about 8:25 p.m., announced they were robbing the place and ordered the three employees, all men ages 17, 19, and 24, to the front of the store.
When Jackson discovered that none of the employees could open the cash register, he shot each person once.
The employees shot in the robbery are all expected to survive. A fourth employee, a 36-year-old woman, was able to hide in a closet and was not injured.
According to the police synopsis: The suspects then fled to a Cadillac Escalade driven by Scott that was parked in the rear parking lot KFC and drove eight blocks to Jackson's home on Liberty Street, which he shares with Fatima Robertson, 23, who was charged late Saturday with two counts of armed robbery in separate cases.
Responding Aurora officers and detectives recognized the robbers' methods were similar to other recent armed robberies both in Aurora and in an unincorporated area near Aurora where Robertson had been looked at as a suspect,
Aurora Police and Kane County Sheriff's deputies went to Jackson and Robertson's home and arrested the three men and the woman within about 10 minutes of the robbery.
Police said they kept Scott and West in jail based on probable cause in the KFC robbery. And they said they kept Robertson in jail based on evidence found in two other robberies, including the holdup of an auto repair shop on July 22 on the 1900 block of North Farnsworth Avenue near Aurora and a Mexican restaurant on Aug. 4 on the 400 block of Hinman Street in Aurora.
In both robberies, police say, Robertson worked with an accomplice who was armed with a rifle-type weapon.
Both of those investigations remain open to identify Robertson's accomplice.
Jackson initially was released, but as the investigation progressed police say they were able to link his involvement in the KFC robbery and arrested him Friday morning.
After getting a search warrant for the Liberty Street home, police say they found the gun believed to be used in the KFC robbery Friday afternoon.
They also are examining the Escalade for evidence.
Police say Jackson, Scott and Robertson are convicted felons and were out on parole at the time of their crimes.
Bail was set Sunday morning at $2 million for both Robertson and Jackson and $1.5 million for Scott and West. Their next court dates were not immediately available.
"Everyone involved in this case did an incredible job of working together to bring a sense of justice to the victims of these horrific crimes," Aurora Police Chief Greg Thomas said in a written statement.