In a strange turn of events, the village of Oak Park had four armed robberies in under two hours on the evening of Oct. 19. In each instance, the offender was seen fleeing the scene after committing the individual robberies in a silver sports utility vehicle (SUV).
The first armed robbery took place at 5:45 p.m. in the 200 block of South Boulevard, when a man wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and dark pants approached an Oak Park resident. The man showed a firearm and demanded the resident’s property. After taking two cell phones and a wallet from the victim – an estimated loss of $650, the offender fled in the aforementioned silver SUV and was last seen traveling westbound on South Boulevard.
Shortly after, at 6:08 p.m., another Oak Park resident became a victim of armed robbery, when a man carrying a firearm demanded the resident’s property. In this instance, the victim stated the man was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with jeans. The offender took the second victim’s wallet – a loss worth an unknown amount, then fled the scene in what police reports describe as a “small silver colored SUV with tinted windows.” The vehicle was last observed moving west on Lake Street.
Not even 10 minutes after the second armed robbery, the third happened. At 6:13 p.m. in the 100 block of North Harvey Avenue, a man in a gray hooded sweatshirt and dark pants approached an Oak Park resident and, with firearm in full display, demanded the resident’s property. The offender took the victim’s cell phone and wallet, a loss estimated at $1,100. As in the previous two incidents, the man drove away in a silver SUV. In this case, however, the police reports describe the SUV as “newer” and possibly a Lexus or Toyota. The vehicle, which also reportedly had tinted windows, was last seen going north on Harvey Avenue.
The spree of armed robberies concluded with the robbery of an Acworth, Georgia resident at 6:24 p.m. in the 600 block of South Scoville Avenue. A man brandishing a firearm approached the victim and took the victim’s purse, which contained cash and miscellaneous credit cards, an estimated loss of $350. The offender fled in a similar vehicle, described as a “gray colored SUV,” and was last seen traveling north on Scoville Avenue.
Oak Park police say it is unknown at this time if the four armed robberies were committed by the same man. The offender is described in each of the reports as a Black man, but the descriptions vary ever so slightly in details. The first report states the man was about 5-feet-9-inches in height and of a thin build, while the second report states the man as being about 5-feet-7-inches to 5-feet-8-inches tall with a medium build. The second report also includes that the man is believed to be about 20 years old. The man is described as being about 20 years old with a medium build in the third report as well; however, the third report gives the man an estimated height of about 5-feet-10 inches and says the man had a round face. The fourth report had no description of the offender other than being male.
