A man suspected of helping to rob a UPS driver in Oak Park last month faces federal charges after being arrested as part of Operation Legend, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative coordinating federal and local police resources in Chicago area to fight violent crime.
Darius D. Young, 24, of Berwyn, was charged with one count of armed robbery in a criminal complaint that alleges he and others engaged in a spree of robberies and carjackings over a two-day period on Aug. 20-21.
Young was arrested at 6:50 p.m. on Aug. 21 in Chicago just hours after he and two others allegedly robbed a UPS delivery driver at 1:21 p.m. in the 1100 block of Highland Avenue in Oak Park. At the time of his arrest, according to the complaint, Young was seated in the Kia used to flee the scene of the robbery.
The complaint states that, after circling the block a few times, Young and two other men pulled up in a silver Kia Optima and parked behind the UPS truck. Three other people in a red Acura TL reportedly acted as lookouts.
After exiting the Kia, the men reportedly forced the delivery driver to lie face down on the ground, saying, “Don’t move. Stay down.”
Young and another man then removed a total of 12 packages from the UPS vehicle, the complaint states, as a third stood over the UPS driver holding what’s believed to be a 9 mm pistol.
The three offenders then fled the scene in the Kia Optima driven by a fourth person. A witness in a nearby parking lot recorded a video of the incident.
The complaint reveals that, during an interview with law enforcement, Young divulged that most of the stolen UPS boxes contained household items, which were tossed in dumpsters.
“Young stated he did not get any of the proceeds from the UPS robbery as the only thing of value were the pair of Jordan shoes, which were not his shoe size,” the complaint alleges.
According to the complaint, the Kia that served as the getaway car was similar to that stolen in an armed carjacking on Aug. 20 in Cicero. The complaint alleges the same crew committed in a second carjacking in Cicero as well as a robbery and a carjacking in Chicago on Aug. 20 and 21.
On the evening of Aug. 21, police saw the Kia and the red Acura TL pull into the 5200 block of West Polk Street in Chicago and approached the vehicles. The red Acura TL was able to elude police after a short pursuit.
The driver of the Kia also attempted to elude police, reversing into a tree, which caused the trunk to pop open, revealing UPS boxes. The driver then reportedly shifted into drive and bailed out while the car was still moving forward. He was apprehended after a short foot pursuit, and he appears to have been charged by Chicago police, not federal agents.
Young, who was in the Kia’s front passenger seat, was arrested upon exiting car, according to the complaint. Young remains in federal custody, held without bond awaiting trial.
