Recently in Theft / Robbery Category

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Randolph Walker, who is suspected of robbing the TCF Bank branch at 120 S. Riverside Plaza three times, was arrested outside the bank after an employee saw him.

The 59-year-old Pittsburgh, Pa. native was charged in US District Court with one count of bank robbery. He is accused of robbing more than $4,000 on May 10 from the bank.

And given the evidence likely to be used against him, he'll need a particularly experienced Chicago criminal attorney to help defend against the serious charge. But more charges may be forthcoming.

Suspected shoplifter Donald L. Johnson may not have made headlines had his alleged shoplifting not gone so horribly wrong, as reported by the Chicago Tribune. The incident began at a Dominick's Food Store at 215 S. Route 83, where he was suspected of stealing several bottles of liquor. 

The 32-year-old's long list of charges includes retail theft, aggravated battery of a police officer, criminal damage to state supported property, driving with a suspended license, aggravated fleeing and eluding, driving without insurance and resisting arrest.

Needless to say, Donald Johnson's Chicago criminal attorney will have his hands full with this case.

Graduate student Natasha McShane and her friend, Stacy Jurich, were seriously beaten with a bat and robbed in Bucktown last Friday, the Chicago Tribune reported. A Northern Irish national, Natasha McShane was out celebrating with her friend upon learning that she had gotten an internship after earning her degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The student, 23 years old, and her 24-year-old friend sustained head trauma and are being treated at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. Natasha McShane underwent a medical procedure to reduce pressure in her brain and is in critical condition, while Stacy Jurich is in serious condition.

The graduate student's parents flew to Chicago upon hearing the news and said they have never encountered this type of violence before. Grandmother Bernadette McShane spoke on behalf of Natasha McShane's parents:

"They're distraught. And they're very shocked." 

Police told the Chicago Herald-News that 23-year-old Hank M. Robinson is responsible for more than a dozen burglaries throughout the Joliet area. His Oldsmobile Alero was stopped close to midnight last week, after police say they observed traffic violations.

Suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty, but how will Hank Robinson possibly explain to the court why he had some unusual items in his car? Joliet Det. Jim Voudrie explained his interaction with the state trooper who stopped the suspect:

"He had a cash register and cash drawers inside the vehicle, so state police asked if we had any business burglaries."

Well yes, as a matter of fact, Joliet had experienced quite a few.

Cook County prosecutors charged Daquane Gary and Jerrod Evans with armed robbery after they allegedly took pizzas and petty cash at gunpoint from at least two different delivery men, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. 

Police sources told reporters they found the 18-year-old men by tracking their footprints in the snow, which led from the scene of one of the crimes to Gary's home. They allegedly also found two guns and an unspecified quantity of marijuana.

The two were ordered held on $250,000 bail and most likely have already contacted a Chicago criminal attorney.

Former Niles police officer William Christie was charged with stealing $1,700 from a man he found dead in his YMCA room, according to the Chicago Tribune.

He has been charged with theft and official misconduct, held on $50,000 bond.

According to official reports cited by the Tribune, Christie had responded to a call that a man was dead at the Niles YMCA facility last November. He sealed the room, told YMCA staff that no one was allowed in the room and made several attempts to enter the room, according to the authorities.

This case is very unusual for a number of reasons. Two young men were arrested about 30 minutes after they allegedly robbed a Payless Shoe Source in the South Side neighborhood of Chatham (Sun-Times).

According to the article, police say the two men entered the store at 8:47 p.m. with a makeshift handgun that was really "a staple gun or wrench" wrapped in duct tape. Then they announced that they were robbing the store.

Police say the surveillance video footage shows how one of the accused robbers had forgotten to pull down his ski mask before entering the store, "so he pulled it down real quick -- so the eye holes were off, causing him to begin stumbling around."

Just imagine that for a moment.

In retrospect, 22-year-old Kendra Coffey says her decision to chase after a couple of suspected thieves after they allegedly grabbed her purse was not the best idea (Tribune). Luckily she only suffered minor scratches when she was dragged about a half-block by their car.

She says she was walking in the vicinity of her apartment near the UIC campus, listening to music on headphones, when a man reached out of a car window to take her purse. Most people would just let it go, grateful they weren't physically injured first.

But not Coffey.

In the history of half-baked crimes, this one takes the cake: 30-year-old North Side resident Muhammed Lawal was arrested (Sun-Times) two days after police say he stole "an unusual rhinestone-studded jacket" in Uptown.

How'd they find him?

How else? He had the gall to actually wear the unusual, rhinestone-studded jacket in public shortly after taking it. Pure genius!

Anything that can be sold can be stolen. And while most dog owners consider their loyal companions more like family members than property, anyone charged with stealing a dog (or any pet, for that matter) gets the same charge as if he or she stole a microwave oven or a bottle of vodka.

Unless, however, one of the stolen animals turns up injured or dead (Daily Herald).