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Lombard News
Detectives make arrests within 24 hours of alleged robbery in park
by Bonnie MacKay
Lombard detectives made fast work of solving a case that involved an alleged armed robbery in a Lombard park.
“It was a phenomenal investigation,” said Lombard Police Deputy Chief Pat Rollins.
At about 10 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 2, officers received a 9-1-1 call for an incident at Four Seasons park.
According to Lombard Police Sgt. John Malatia, a male and female subject in the park saw a large group of individuals coming toward them.
The female was able to run to a vehicle, where two friends were located and then left the area, the sergeant related. However, the male subject was unable to access his vehicle and apparently was confronted by the group of six to 10 people, Malatia said.
“He was allegedly surrounded and confronted by the group,” Malatia said, adding that they demanded his wallet.
The teen’s wallet was in his vehicle, the sergeant related.
“They allegedly forced him at gunpoint and hit him in the head to convince him to open the car door,” Malatia said.
The subjects left the area and police were notified of the incident by an independent witness. Lombard Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene and transported the injured teen to an area hospital for treatment. He was treated and released, police said.
Based on the description given to detectives, Lombard Police Detective Michael Chudzinski recalled contact with individuals who may have matched the description of the alleged offenders, the sergeant related.
Lombard investigators went to talk to the parents of the possible suspects, but the juveniles were not home at that time.
“The parents said they would contact us when they came home and they did,” Malatia said.
The night following the incident, as investigators were preparing to go the home, they ran into a group of individuals in the area of the alleged robbery, the sergeant said. It was at about the same time the incident had taken place the previous night, and the individuals they encountered allegedly admitted to being present when the incident took place.
“They implicated others who we were already looking at,” he added.
Three brothers, ages 14, 15 and 16, were taken into custody. A 16-year-old Lombard resident also was taken into custody. The pistol, which Malatia described as an Airsoft gun, which was realistic looking, was recovered by investigators.
“We were happy to bring this to a conclusion in such a short time,” Rollins said. “It was a violent attack on individuals who were not deserving [of this].”
Malatia credited his team of investigators with doing some “very nice work.”
“It was a nice team effort,” the sergeant said, adding that investigators were able to make the arrests the day after the incident happened despite still working a homicide which occurred last month.
The four juveniles were charged with aggravated robbery. They were transported to the Kane County Youth Home in Geneva, where three have since been released.
Source: The Lombardian News, August 2, 2012, in the Village of Lombard, DuPage County, Illinois 60148 USA
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