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4 arrested after fiery crash are charged with series of armed robberies — but top cop says they’re suspected of committing ‘dozens’ more
Four men arrested after a police chase and a fiery crash in Ravenswood have been charged with a series of armed robberies, and Chicago’s top cop said Wednesday they’re suspected of committing “dozens” more.
The men — ages 19 to 21 — were taken into custody following Monday’s crash and charged with four armed holdups earlier that day in Budlong Woods, North Center and Bucktown, Supt. David Brown told reporters.
The arrests came the same day that police issued a community alert about 50 armed robberies in several neighborhoods between last Wednesday and Saturday. Brown said investigators believe the four suspects may be responsible for all of them.
“It’s a nation of laws. We’ve got to put together the cases to prove that these were the offenders,” Brown said while also noting that police “believe that these are the guys.”
The first of the four Monday robberies happened between 3:15 a.m. and 3:18 a.m. in the 2400 block of West Berwyn Avenue and 4300 block of North Leavitt Street, Brown said. The suspects struck again between 10:26 a.m. and 10:39 a.m. in the 2100 block of North Claremont Avenue and 4100 block of North Wolcott Avenue.
In each case, three of the suspects approached a person who was walking or sitting in a car before demanding property, rifling through their pockets and fleeing in a waiting car.
The police pursuit began when officers saw “a potential robbery,” according to Cmdr. Joseph Brennan. Sgt. Syed Quadri said the chase was authorized based on “escalating violence” and a report that “a woman was pistol-whipped” that morning.
The suspects fled in a stolen Hyundai that crashed in the 5100 block of North Oakley Avenue, police said. They ran off but were found hiding in a nearby garage, Brown said, adding that three guns were recovered.
Dashun McGraw, 19, Marquise Green, 20, Marcus Carter, 20, and Marchelo Hicks, 21, all face felony counts of armed robbery with a firearm, aggravated robbery with a firearm and robbery, police said.
Carter, Hicks and Green were also charged with felony counts of unlawful use of a weapon, police said. Carter and Hicks also face warrants.
Brennan said the suspects had been “moving at a speed that was tough to catch up to them,” though he noted that police were aware they lived in the Near West Police District. Officials said the arrests were the result of coordination between multiple police districts, strong video evidence and help from the community and a police helicopter.
“It took a little bit to get that coordination together,” Brennan said. “You know that they’re traveling at a high rate of speed, they flee all the time, they’re armed with weapons. It’s a dangerous situation for the public [and] it’s dangerous for out officers. But that being said, our guys were up to the challenge.”
Brown sidestepped a question about how the masked suspects were identified, acknowledging that police were being “very cleverly kind of bland about how we use technology” to catch suspects.
He said the suspects’ clothing and weapons played into the determinations, along with police and private video footage that was used in “a very aggressive surveillance plan.”
In a familiar refrain, he insisted that the four men “need to be held without bond.”
“It’s really important that this hard work is not undone by our courts not taking this seriously,” Brown said. “This is a danger to the community. These people are dangerous”
All four men were expected in bond court Wednesday afternoon.