Woman charged in 2 North Side robberies used syringe to threaten clerk

A Fox River Grove woman has been charged in two Lincoln Park-area robberies earlier this month, a week after police issued an alert about a series of incidents in which a man and woman robbed several stores, some of them by using a syringe.
Lauren Obrien, 18, of the 300 block of North Morgan Lane in Fox River Grove, has been charged with armed robbery and aggravated robbery. Austin Pierce has been charged in three of the robberies and is being held in Cook County Jail in lieu of $60,000 bail, and also faces charges in connection with a series of robberies on the North Shore this month.
Police originally had suspected the two in the robberies of five stores between 5:30 p.m. May 15 and 10 a.m. May 22, and issued an alert May 23. In each case, a person approached a clerk and showed a note saying the robber is armed with a syringe, knife or gun. A syringe and knife were displayed in two of the robberies.
The robberies cited in the original alert happened on the 1300 block of West Fullerton Avenue, the 1100 block of West Webster Avenue, the 2000 block of North Clybourn Avenue, the 1200 block of West Fullerton Avenue, and the 900 block of West Webster Avenue.
Obrien is charged with using a knife to rob a store in the 2000 block of North Clybourn on May 20 at 11:20 a.m., and fleeing with about $120. The second robbery in which she’s charged happended after the police alert was issued—and after Pierce was arrested. On May 25 about at 6:45 p.m., also in the 2000 block of North Clybourn, Obrien threatened to use a syringe on a store clerk and fled with $215