CHICAGO – Four men, including a frequent subject of CWBChicago’s reporting, were charged this week with federal robbery and gun charges, accusing them of robbing electricians of expensive specialized equipment. We first told you about the robbery a year ago, just a few days after workers were targeted in the 9700 block of South Martin Luther King Drive.
Among the four men charged is Kahdaffie Green, who has served prison time for participating in a $46,000 shoplifting spree at the downtown Prada store in 2022. In fact, he was on parole for that crime at the time of the robbery of the utility worker.
Green, 25, Jahjuan Green, 27, Birden, 26, and Ramyyeh, 20, wore masks and displayed weapons to rob three Meade Electrical Company employees of a SeeSnake sewer camera reel and an associated camera on Dec. 6, 2023, officials allege. The crew escaped in a stolen jeep.
Federal prosecutors alleged this week that the group surveilled the robbery location in advance, searched online for the equipment’s resale value and used their phones to plan the crime.
One detail the men apparently couldn’t find online is that the expensive equipment was equipped with a GPS tracker, which allowed Chicago police to quickly locate the group and recover the stolen items from the Jeep.
Each man now faces charges of robbery and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago said Friday. Kahdaffie Green and Ramyyeh are also accused of being felons in possession of firearms.
Prosecutors are expected to drop charges against the men as the FBI continues to pursue the case.
Kahdaffie Green, however, has another case pending in state court. Prosecutors accused him last year of being part of a shoplifting ring that stole $210,000 worth of merchandise from the Louis Vuitton store at Nordstrom, 55 East Grand, also while he was on parole for the Prada store raid.
Original reporting you won’t see anywhere else, paid for by our readers. Click here to support our work.
