Man charged in 2 West Side iPhone robberies

A 20-year-old Logan Square man was arrested Tuesday night after he robbed two people of their iPhones at gunpoint.
Semajay Hyles, of the 1700 block of North Washtenaw Avenue, was charged with two felony counts of armed robbery with a firearm.
Officers from the Near West District robbery mission team responded to a call of a man who had just been robbed of his wallet and iPhone at gunpoint in the 1100 block of North Wood Street at 10:45 p.m. Tuesday in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood.
The officers – trained in activating the tracking application on stolen or misplaced iPhones – immediately tracked the victim’s phone to the West Humboldt Park neighborhood where they saw a man matching the description of the armed robber.
When officers stopped the man at Chicago Avenue and Pulaski Road and patted him down, they found a .22-caliber handgun hidden in his pants.
The officers found the iPhone from the Wood Street robbery and also found another iPhone taken in an earlier armed robbery. That crime occurred about 8:15 p.m. near Grand Avenue and Ada Street in the West Town neighborhood.
The victims in both robberies identified Hyles as the robber

Felon charged in slaying of restaurant worker

A convicted felon was charged today in the fatal shooting of an employee at a restaurant in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood during a robbery last Feb. 9.
Anthony White, 41, of the 7000 block of South East End Avenue, was charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery, according to Andy Conklin.
White has several past drug convictions.
Lynetta Ward, 54, was working behind the counter at a Subway shop in the 1100 block of North Western Avenue when a man armed with a gun entered the shop and announced a robbery.
When Ward ran toward the back, the robber fired, fatally striking her in the neck

Police issue alert after burglaries in East Ukrainian Village

Police are alerting residents of East Ukrainian Village after three recent burglaries in the neighborhood.
The break-ins occurred in the 1800 block of West Iowa Street on Oct. 9, in the 1000 block of North Winchester Avenue on Oct. 10 and in the 1000 block of North Honore Street on Oct. 10.
All three burglaries occurred during the day

Robber shoots 2 seperate people in the Ukrainian Village minutes apart

A pair of adults were shot during robberies blocks and minutes apart in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood, and police believe the same person attacked both of them.
They were wounded about 1:25 a.m. in the the 1000 block of North Damen and the 2100 block of West Thomas Street. In the first of the two, a 30-year-old woman was shot in the hip just north of Augusta Boulevard on Damen Avenue. She's in critical condition at John H. Stroger Jr., Hospital of Cook County.
About a block north and a block and a half west a few minutes later, a 27-year-old man was shot in the face and also taken to Stroger Hospital. The shooting happened during a robbery in the 2100 block of West Thomas Street about 1:30 a.m. Someone approached the man from behind, demanded his backpack and shot him. Police said the attacker removed the backpack from the man but it's not clear if he fled with it.

Man shot in Ukrainian Village

A man in his 20s was shot about 4 a.m. near Western Avenue and Thomas Street in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood. He was shot in the abdomen and is in stable condition at Stroger hospital

Man shot in Ukrainian Village

Just before 4 a.m. a man was shot in the leg in an east-west alley where it intersects with Orleans Street between Chicago Avenue and Ontario Street. One person is in custody. Police had problems with a crowd that gathered after the shooting

3 shot in Ukrainian Village

Just before 2 a.m. two men and a woman were shot near Oakley Boulevard and Ohio Street. Someone inside a passing car opened fire at a handful of people drinking in front of a house, hitting a 42-year-old man and a 21-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman

Robbers tracked with iPhone app hid phones in chip bags

West Side police used an iPhone app to track down two men who robbed five people of their cell phones and cash early Thursday, then found the iPhones in bags of potato chips at the gas station where the men were arrested.
Terrance Conway, 25, and Tiquell Harris, 22, face armed robbery charges in the attacks, one at 1 a.m. Thursday in the 2300 block of West Iowa Street, the other 15 minutes later in the 2100 block of West Iowa. In a bond hearing today, Cook County Criminal Court Judge James Brown set bail for Conway at $150,000 and bail for Harris at $125,000.
A man, 34, and a woman, 22, were walking home in the 2300 block of West Iowa about 1 a.m. Thursday when two men came up to them and announced a robbery. The robbers made off with the woman's iPhone and a purse containing cash and makeup, as well as the man’s cell phone, cash and credit cards.
Just 15 minutes later, two men went up to three men, ages 30, 33, and 38, as they tried to get into a car. The robbers stole more than $120 from the men, as well as cell phones—including one man’s iPhone--wallets and credit cards from the three men and fled.
Using the Find My iPhone GPS tracking app, Wood District officers figured out the location of iPhones stolen in the robberies and went to a gas station in the 4200 block of West Chicago Avenue. The officers saw a black 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix parked with no one in it, near the gas pumps.
When the officers went into the gas station, they saw two men try to hide by ducking down between the aisles of merchandise. The two men matched the description of the robbers, and the officers arrested them.
After the arrests, the officers searched the aisle and found the stolen iPhones in bags of potato chips.
Victims later identified Conway, of the 3000 block of West Walnut Street, and Harris, of the 100 block of East Lake Street, Elmhurst, as the robbers, and they were charged with armed robbery

Worker shot during robbery at Subway shop in Ukrainian Village

A 54-year-old woman working at a Subway shop was shot in the neck during a robbery in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood Thursday night.
 At 8:50 p.m., police were called to the 1100 block of North Western Avenue where they found the wounded woman.
Police said she was working behind the counter when an armed man entered and announced a robbery. When the woman ran toward the back of the restaurant, the man fired, hitting her in the neck.
He then ordered another employee to open the cash register, grabbed an unknown amount of cash, and ran.
 Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said the female worker was in “extremely critical’’ condition when she was transported toJohn H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. Her prognosis is “poor,’’ he said.

Dramatic pizzeria robbery caught on video (Ghetto animals in action)

Two men robbed a Ukrainian Village pizzeria at gunpoint early today, and the restaurant's owner said the entire frightening incident was caught on video thanks to a new surveillance system installed just a day ago.
SEE VIDEO HERE- CHICAGO TRIBUNE