Six men have been arrested and charged in connection with a daytime smash-and-grab heist of Rolex watches in downtown Chicago amid President Donald Trump’s plan to send in the National Guard to help lower the city’s crime rate.
CWBChicago reported that the robbery took place Friday at a Rolex store on the city’s Magnificent Mile. The men approached display windows and used hammers to smash their way in to steal the watches. The thieves were able to steal five Rolexes valued at $170,500 before running to a getaway car.
‘Organized retail thieves need to understand we take these crimes extremely seriously and will prosecute offenders to the fullest extent of the law.’
But Chicago police responded to the scene and tracked down the suspects with a police helicopter. The suspects fled toward the south side and crashed into a parked car after exiting an expressway. Despite the robbers running away on foot after the crash, police were able to apprehend the men and recover four of the five watches.
Victory Banks, 33; Will Brown, 21; Aldonte Goodman, 22; Anthony Hampton, 24; Dalvin Johnson, 31; and Armon Williams, 18, were charged with theft by unauthorized control of property exceeding $100,000 and $500,000, criminal damage to property between $500 and $10,000, and burglary. All of the charges are felonies.
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Banks was not listed in the Cook County jail population when Blaze News checked Monday. But Williams, Goodman, Brown, Hampton, and Johnson were still listed. The hearings for Williams, Goodman, and Brown are set for Thursday; the hearing for Johnson is set for Tuesday, and the hearing for Hampton was set for Monday.
CWBChicago said court records show Johnson already was on pretrial release for another burglary case at the time of the smash-and-grab.
“Organized retail thieves need to understand we take these crimes extremely seriously and will prosecute offenders to the fullest extent of the law,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said in a statement. “These are far from victimless crimes, and I applaud the Chicago Police Department for their swift work bringing these offenders to justice.”
Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez (D) has suggested the National Guard protect the tourist areas of the city so Chicago police “don’t have to babysit the Bean or Buckingham Fountain for eight hours a day. Our officers can return to their districts [and] answer the thousands of 911 calls logged but never answered.”
Julio Rosas/Blaze News
High-end stores on the Magnificent Mile have experienced daytime smash-and-grab robberies even with pedestrians and police officers nearby. While not as high during the Labor Day weekend, a total of 21 people were shot, with seven of them killed this weekend.
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