Two men were apprehended and charged with a late-March robbery in River Forest after their victim recognized them on the streets of Maywood more than a week after the incident took place.
The victim, a 23-year-old Chicago man, was walking in the vicinity of 9th Avenue and Madison Street in Maywood on April 5 when he passed the two men allegedly responsible for attacking and robbing him in the 7300 block of Lake Street on March 23.
Darrell King, 20, of the 1400 block of South 2nd Avenue in Maywood, and Darnell Swanigan, 20, of the 1000 block of South 15th Avenue in Maywood, were arrested shortly afterward by Maywood police after the victim called 911.
They were later turned over to the custody of the River Forest Police Department. Both suspects were charged with felony robbery.
The robbery occurred on March 23 at around 10 p.m. Police were called to the scene to investigate a battery and found the victim disoriented, but able to provide a description of the offenders, who had punched and robbed him.
The River Forest police reviewed their video surveillance system, which helps to monitor criminal activity in the shopping center at Lake and Harlem, and found an image of the two suspects just prior the attack. The picture helped with basic physical and clothing descriptions, but did not capture the offenders’ faces.
But the victim spotted his attackers while walking through Maywood on April 5. He immediately called local police, who took the two young men into custody in Maywood.
“Then we brought them over for our investigation,” said River Forest Police Chief Gregory Weiss. “Ultimately they were charged by the River Forest Police Department.”
While in custody, the men reportedly admitted to being members of the Gangster Disciples street gang, but Weiss said that the robbery was not gang-related.
