Naperville convenience store robbed for the fifth time since 2010
An armed robber got away with an undisclosed amount of cash from a Naperville convenience store early Wednesday morning, authorities said.
The thief showed a weapon to the clerk at the 7-Eleven at 351 E. Bailey Road at 3:08 a.m. before taking the cash, Naperville police Cmdr. Jason Arres said in a news release.
The clerk, who wasn't injured, told investigators the thief was a man wearing all black clothes along with a mask and gloves.
This is the fifth time the convenience store south of 75th Street between Washington Street and Naper Boulevard has been the site of an armed robbery since 2010.
Arres said it's hard to determine why the store has been robbed multiple times. He said it has good lighting and officers make sure to patrol there.
But the location also is across the street from an apartment complex where a drug ring accused of dealing heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis was busted about two years ago.
"Robberies like these are generally a crime of opportunity," Arres said.
Police focus extra patrols on 24-hour businesses such as the 7-Eleven, where criminals might be more likely to strike because there are fewer people out and about to see what happens.
But even if an officer stops by one minute, a robber could strike the moment he or she leaves, Arres said.
Other robberies at this 7-Eleven were in April 2010, twice in one week in May 2014 and in January of this year.
Arres said the suspect in the January armed robbery, who also stole from a convenience store on the 1400 block of East Chicago Avenue about 20 minutes after leaving the 7-Eleven, has not yet been found.
Investigators are working to determine if there is any connection between the January robbery and Wednesday morning's holdup.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Naperville police at (630) 420-6666.