CHICAGO – Police have arrested another man in connection with a series of necklace robberies that have occurred downtown over the past three weeks. But the thefts continue, and another incident was reported on Thursday afternoon.
On Wednesday afternoon, two women were targeted while stealing jewelry outside a lakeside cafe near Navy Pier. A Chicago police spokesperson said both robberies were reported in the 500 block of East Grand, one around 2:36 p.m. and the other between 2 and 3 p.m.
In one case, a 32-year-old woman told police she was outside when two men “came up to her and took her personal belongings,” the spokesperson said. The men fled with her belongings, which we are told was a necklace.
The other woman, listed in the police report as 23 or 24 years old, told police she was outside when a man took property from someone sitting next to her. It is not clear exactly what was taken.
Witnesses reported the men fled the scene on Divvy bicycles.
Police arrested a suspect, 18-year-old Alex Latacunga, in connection with one of yesterday’s incidents. He was released from police custody after being charged with theft, the police spokesman said.
On Thursday, another woman was targeted by a chain thief near Dearborn and Jackson in the Loop. According to preliminary information, a man ripped off her chain around 4:15 p.m. and ran towards Van Buren Street. A CPD spokesperson confirmed that police responded to the scene, but the case report had not been completed as of 7 p.m.
An officer who handled the call said the robber was a black man in his 20s wearing a black puffy jacket, black sweatpants and a white T-shirt.
Previous reporting
Two more chain robbers were reported Sunday evening, one on the lakefront and one in the Loop.
Shortly after 5 p.m., several people reported seeing two men riding an e-bike along the lake path, with the passenger trying to rip gold chains from people’s necks. According to preliminary information, the duo successfully took at least one chain from a woman’s neck just north of Armitage on the lakeside cycle path.
An officer who reviewed the CPD surveillance video reported that the thieves escaped by riding bicycles over the North Avenue Beach pedestrian bridge. The officer said they were Hispanic men on a black electric bicycle, with the driver wearing a black hat, black sweatshirt and black pants. The passenger was wearing a black hat, black jacket and blue jeans. Witnesses said they appeared to be in their 20s.
A similar robbery was reported in the Loop just after 7 p.m. A Hispanic man in his late teens or early 20s, riding a blue Divvy, grabbed a woman’s necklace from her neck near 400 South State. He was last seen heading east on Ida B. Wells.
In previous incidents:
Just after 5 p.m. Friday, a man ripped the chain from a woman’s neck near the 100 block of South Clinton and fled the scene. He was described as black or Indian with a tattoo over one eye. He was wearing a gray hoodie and black pants and had a black baby carrier over his chest.
On Thursday evening, a woman was robbed near the Shedd Aquarium by a man using the same technique. He escaped on a bicycle. An officer who responded to the scene said the robber was a black man in his mid-20s, 6 feet to 6 feet tall and wearing black clothing.
On Saturday morning, September 21, police arrested Anthony Laya-Alvarado after a woman’s chain was snatched in the 900 block of West Weed. Prosecutors said Laya-Alvarado and an accomplice escaped on a motorized bicycle and ran away when police entered. Police arrested Laya-Alvarado, but the other man escaped.
Previous cases involving a two-man team have been reported:
- near State and Jackson around 3:22 p.m. on September 9
- in Illinois and Peshtigo around noon on September 11
- on the Lakefront Trail near Armitage around 2:30 p.m. on September 11
- on the Lakefront Trail near Grand around 3 p.m. on September 11
- near Lake Street and North Riverside around 4 p.m. on September 11
- in the 300 block of South Financial around 10:42 a.m. on September 12
- near Wells and Adams around 7:40 p.m. on September 13
- near Kinzie and Canal around 10:15 p.m. on September 13
Despite the growing number of cases, Chicago police have not issued any public warnings about the crime pattern.
Editor’s note: Latacunga’s mugshot was not immediately available because the CPD is imposing a four-day embargo on misdemeanor mugshots.
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