Police: Arlington Heights man held up gas stations with replica BB gun
An Arlington Heights man has been charged with robbing Northwest suburban gas stations after he was caught stalking a station in Des Plaines, police said.
Martell J. Flippins, 26, of the 2200 block of Nichols Road, faces five counts of aggravated robbery. Flippins made off with cash, cigars, prepaid cellphones and other items, Des Plaines police Cmdr. Randy Akin said.
In some cases, he pointed a plastic, replica BB gun at a gas station employee or left it peaking out of his waistband, Akin said.
On Dec. 30, Des Plaines officers were called at 11:43 p.m. to the Mobil gas station, 2000 S. Mannheim Road, where the on-duty clerk saw a man on the property he believed to be responsible for an earlier armed robbery of the station Oct. 25, police said.
Officers found the suspect standing in the parking lot of a nearby gas station on the 1900 block of South Mannheim Road. When the suspect saw a patrol officer on Mannheim, he started running west on Howard Street, going about a half block before another officer on foot took him into custody, police said.
Officers searched the suspect and found the replica BB gun in his coat pocket, police said.
After interviews with Des Plaines officers and detectives, Flippins admitted he had intended to rob the Mobil gas station on the night of Dec. 30, police said. But Flippins has not been charged in the Oct. 25 robbery of the same station and police are still investigating, Akin said.
Flippins also admitted to two previous robberies in Des Plaines: at the ZJ's Pantry Plus & Liquors, 699 S. Wolf Road, on Oct. 21, and the 7-Eleven, 2579 Ballard Road, on Nov. 7, police said.
In addition, Des Plaines detectives determined that Flippins had robbed Mobil gas stations in Arlington Heights and Glenview on Oct. 22 and a 7-Eleven in Niles on Nov. 7, police said. He robbed the Arlington Heights Mobil gas station, 815 W. Rand Road, again on Dec. 26, police said.
Niles, Glenview and Arlington Heights police also received Flippins' verbal and signed statements for their cases.
Cook County prosecutors charged him with aggravated robbery instead of armed robbery because he was found with the replica BB gun at the time of his arrest and because of his statements, police said.
A Cook County judge on Friday set Flippins' bail, totaling $750,000, on charges related to three robbery cases and a domestic battery case. He remained in jail as of Friday afternoon.