Men charged in Sprint cell phone store robbery

Two Chicago men were arrested Thursday morning in Chicago Lawn and accused of robbing a Sprint cell phone store at gunpoint.
Omar Anderson, 20, and Victor Mayberry, 18, entered the cell phone outlet, 7920 S. Western Ave., in the morning armed with a gun, according to court records. The men then told two store employees to stuff cash from the register and as many cell phones, particularly iPhones, as they could into bags.
Prosecutors said one employee pushed the store's emergency alarm while another brought one of the men into the back of the store to collect more cell phones, and the two men then fled the store. Anderson escaped in a car but one employee gave chase in his car until an accident stopped him; police later caught up with Anderson in the 7700 block of South Western Avenue, where he was arrested.
Mayberry, who was charged with aggravated battery to a police officer, theft, and an aggravated unlawful weapons offense, was arrested in the 7500 block of South Western Avenue after he punched his arresting officer in the face and chest

Bail set at $150K for man accused of fighting with police, paramedics

A 28-year-old Hobart, Ind. man has been charged in a disturbance that left himself, two paramedics, and a police officer hospitalized after he fought with them outside a River North club Wednesday night.
A judge set bail at $150,000 Wednesday for Joseph Zajac, of the 3800 block of Colbourne Street in Hobart, who was charged with three felony counts of aggravated battery to a police officer or protected employee and misdemeanor resisting a police officer.
The incident began about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday at Kinzie Street and LaSalle Drive as paramedics and police responded to a multiple 911 calls about a sick person.
Responding officers spoke to a doorman who was nearby working when he saw Zajac who appeared highly intoxicated. He was stumbling in the street, falling down, and hitting his head on the ground.
The doorman saw a passerby who told police he was a doctor, who helped steady Zajac and kept him from falling down again. The doorman told Zajac and several of his companions that he should calm down and sit, but Zajac began punching, kicking, head butting, and trying to bite the emergency responders who had gotten to the scene.
The doorman was “visibly shaken’’ and said of Zajac’s actions: “He was attacking them and they were only trying to help’’.
Someone on the scene overheard Zajac on a phone saying he’d been kicked out of a nearby tavern and he was “lost in Chicago and I’m on ‘shrooms’’ .
A police News Affairs statement on the incident said the "highly combative'' Zajac was hitting a paramedic in the face and punching and kicking a police officer. He caused a second paramedic to fall and hit her head on a railing, causing unconsciousness.
The male and female paramedic along with a male police officer were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The man who allegedly attacked the three was also hospitalized there. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening,

3rd man charged in 2011 killing of CPD officer

A third man has been charged in the 2011 killing of a Chicago police officer.
Alexander Villa, 25, has been charged with first-degree murder of a peace officer, aggravated battery and armed robbery with a firearm.
Along with Edgardo Colon and Tyrone Clay, both arrested Jan. 7, 2012, he is charged with killing Officer Clifton Lewis on Dec. 29, 2011 during a botched convenience store robbery in the 1200 block of North Austin Avenue.
Lewis, a tactical officer assigned to the Austin District, was working in the store that evening while off-duty, police said. In his eight years with the Chicago Police Department, he won 81 awards, including 70 honorable mentions and four department commendations.
Colon and Clay were each charged with first degree murder of a peace officer and murder while in commission of a forcible felony.

Woman found guilty in '08 shooting death of police officer

A jury convict a woman with a reported history of mental illness in his 2008 slaying.
Jurors deliberated for about five hours before finding Robin Johnson, 50, guilty of first-degree murder. That carries an automatic life sentence, along with aggravated discharge of a firearm toward another police officer.
Prosecutors had called for a quick conviction while arguing that Johnson became angry and aggressive after another woman got in her way on a CTA bus, then snatched a gun from Francis and shot him once in the head, killing him instantly.
Johnson then opened fire on responding officers and went on to shoot Francis two more times as he lay motionless on the ground, about a block from what was then the Belmont District station

Police shoot man dead after sergeant stabbed in face

Chicago police officers shot and killed a man after he stabbed a sergeant in the face in the Rosemoor neighborhood.
The sergeant, 46, suffered a puncture wound above the temple and lacerations to face. He was taken in serious condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center. Police said his wounds were not life-threatening.
The three officers forced their way into the home after hearing a woman scream and the sergeant, who was first to enter, was stabbed several times in the face. The other officers pulled the sergeant back outside and the suspect barricaded himself in the home.
After calling for an ambulance, the two officers re-entered the home and found the suspect downstairs near a furnace. Camden said the man charged at them with the knife and the officers shot him. He was dead at the scene.
The woman suffered puncture wounds to her leg and was treated at Roseland Hospital. Her son, 40, was pronounced dead at 11:45 p.m. Tuesday.
A statement from Chicago police said the man was wielding two knives and refused commands to drop them before he lunged toward the officers.
The statement identified the sergeant as a 19-year veteran assigned to the Calumet Police District on the Far South Side.  Police and Camden said the officers and the sergeant were tactical officers in plainclothes.

Charges filed in baseball bat beating of police officer

A South Side man has been charged with hitting a Chicago police officer in the head with a baseball bat as the officer tried to break up a fight in the West Englewood neighborhood over the weekend.
Tythia Thigpen, 29, of the 5700 block of South Winchester Avenue, is charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery to a peace officer and aggravated battery use of deadly weapon.
Thigpen was taken into custody around 8:30 p.m. Monday after surrendering at the Area South police station in the Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side.
The officer was struck around 12:40 a.m. Saturday in the 5700 block of South Winchester Avenue while trying to break up a fight possibly involving "dozens" of people.
The officer was taken in serious condition to Stroger Hospital and has been released. He is an Englewood District beat officer who joined the department in 2009.
Thigpen has an arrest record that includes murder charges in 2004, according to court documents. He was found not guilty and released in 2006. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine.

Man killed after exchanging gunfire with officers

A man was shot and killed after he fired a gun at Chicago police early Saturday morning in Albany Park on the city's Northwest Side.
The man was driving east on Wilson Avenue about 2:55 a.m. and hit an SUV as he crossed Kimball Avenue before hitting several other parked cars and coming to rest in the middle of the block.
An unmarked police SUV was behind it and the car's driver fired out of his car toward police.
Police said a car in front of the dead man's was hit by gunshots, apparently from the gun of the dead man, who had fired through his own windshield. The man, in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene

Quick work by Police:nabs robbery suspects

A quick response by a sergeant early today led to the arrest of three men accused of robbing a man as he was hailing a cab in the Lakeview neighborhood on the North Side.
A fourth suspect managed to escape after fighting with the responding sergeant, who was left with cuts and bruises but declined hospital treatment.
Terrell Williams, 18, of the 3300 block of Western Avenue in Park Forest, William Brown, 25, of the 300 block of South Western Avenue in Chicago, and Dontay Underwood, 19, of the 500 block of West Chestnut Street in Chicago, were each charged with robbery.
Underwood also was charged with resisting a peace officer and for the issuance of a warrant
The three and an unidentified accomplice approached a man and began hitting him until he fell to the ground at about 12:45 a.m. as the victim was trying to hail a cab on Sheffield Avenue near Belmont Avenue.
One of the suspects then reached into the victim’s pocket and removed a cell phone and other property, but they fled when confronted by a bystander.
A Belmont District police sergeant searched the area and found the four suspects a short distance away from where the robbery occurred.
While placing the suspects into custody, the unknown fourth suspect began punching, kicking and pushing the sergeant before getting away.
Underwood also fled the scene but was located, placed into custody, and charged accordingly with co-offenders Brown and Williams after attempting to defeat arrest. The victim’s property was located and recovered.
Police News Affairs Officer Joshua Purkiss said the sergeant suffered some cuts and scrapes and was treated on the scene.

Man shot by police on South Side

A man was shot by Chicago police in the South Chicago neighborhood early Saturday morning after taking off from a traffic stop with three kids in the car.
Police pulled the car over on South South Chicago Avenue near Harbor Avenue and had the man and a passenger outside the car when the driver fought with police and made it back into the car.
The man had a gun in his waistband and kept reaching for it while trying to speed away from police. The kids were in the backseat of the car the entire time
An officer jumped in the car, on the passenger side, while it was moving and shot the man in his abdomen, Fraternal Order of Police Spokesman Patrick Camden said. The car a Jaguar, came to rest on the curb at the corner of South South Chicago and Harbor.
The man was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center but his condition wasn't available.
The officers were "a little banged up" and also taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center. Police didn't consider the wounds serious.
The children were not injured

2 in custody following chase after Police Officer hit during traffic stop

Two people were being questioned by police after the car they were in ran down an officer who was trying to make a traffic stop late this morning.
Officers made a traffic stop near 75th and State streets about 11:10 a.m. and the driver of the vehicle "used the vehicle as a weapon" and hit one of the officers. The officer was injured and treated, but the injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
One of the officers fired shots, but no one was hit.
The vehicle then was driven off, leading police on a chase that ended near 78th Street and King Drive, where the two people were taken into custody.
Police were investigating to determine if both people from the car or just the driver should be charged in the incident

Man accused of trying to run over officers

Sergio Hawkins, of the 4400 block of South Princeton Avenue, was charged with two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of aggravated assault to a police officer.
He's accused of trying to run over officers who tried to stop his car in the 4600 block of South Normal Avenue in the Canaryville neighborhood about 8:30 p.m. Christmas. Police fired shots at Hawkins but did not hit him, and he was then arrested.

Man charged with beating Police Officer on South Side

A South Side police officer had his head smashed against the pavement and briefly lost consciousness after he and his partner tried to stop someone fleeing an area where police were investigating a shots fired call Friday night.
Tony Williams, 43, of the 2700 block of East 77th Street in Chicago, was charged with aggravated battery to a police officer and felony resisting arrest.
Police said Williams slammed one officer's face into the ground several times after he and both officers fell to the ground about 7:06 p.m. Friday, with Williams landing on top of the officer whose face he is accused of smashing.
Police had tried to turn him around after ordering him out of the car because he made "furtive movements" toward his waistband.
Williams had been seen leaving the area of a shots fired call in the 7900 block of South Marquette Avenue at "a high rate of speed" and didn't immediately stop when the two officers tried to stop his car.
When the car did stop in the 2900 block of East 80th Street, Williams told police he "had nothing to do with the gunshots."
The injured officer was treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and released.
Williams was taken to Advocate Trinity Hospital with a small laceration above his eye.
Aside from the felonies, Williams was cited for two moving violations: failure to have a headlight and failure to have license plates illuminated.

2 charged with firing on Chicago police

Two men face attempted murder charges today after shots were fired last night at Chicago police officers assigned to a gang unit in the Little Village neighborhood.
 Giovanni Velez, 22, of the 2000 block of West Cermak Road and Jose Sosa, 22, of the 2600 block of West 24th Place were charged with two felony counts each of attempted first-degree murder and two felony counts each of aggravated discharge of a firearm.
 Additionally, Velez was charged with one count of being an armed habitual criminal, a felony, while Sosa was charged with one misdemeanor count of possession of less than 2.5 grams of cannabis.
They were arrested after shots were fired about 7:20 p.m. Tuesday at officers assigned to a gang unit in the 2300 block of South Washtenaw Avenue.
Sosa and Velez were identified by victims, two on-duty Chicago police officers, as being the individuals who fired at them.
 Upon being approached by police, Velez, who was accompanied by Sosa, produced a handgun and fired at the officers. Both Velez and Sosa fled the scene but were apprehended a short time later and a firearm was recovered.
 No one was struck and police did not return fire

3 pit bulls fatally shot during drug bust, 2 men charged

Chicago police made two arrests and shot three pit bulls who had been commanded to attack them while working on a drug bust early Saturday on the West Side.
Kelvin Murray, 27, of the 4300 block of West Thomas Street, was charged with felony criminal fortification of a residence, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, two counts of assault, and resisting police.
Early Saturday, police responded to the 700 block of North Springfield Avenue in the East Garfield Park neighborhood and saw Murray allegedly engaged in narcotics transactions with numerous people. When Murray saw the officers, he allegedly ran into a residence, slammed the door and "fortified" the entrance with two-by-fours.
When officers yelled "search warrant" and forced their way inside, Murray allegedly yelled, "Get 'em," before releasing two large pit bulls that charged at the officers.
One officer fired 11 rounds and another fired 9 and the two dogs were killed.
A third charging pit bull was shot and killed after Murray ran upstairs and another man, later identified as Larry Baker, 37, of the Springfield address, ordered the dog to attack police.
During a search of the residence, officers found a bag containing what police believed to be heroin and crack cocaine.
Murray was arrested at 12:17 a.m. Baker was also arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault

Gang member faces attempted murder charge for shooting officer

Police said a 27-year-old gang member has been charged with shooting a Chicago police officer earlier this week during an attempted robbery.
Mario Froylan was charged at 9:30 p.m. Friday with attempted first degree murder, attempted robbery with a firearm and aggravated battery.
The charges stem from an attempted robbery early Monday morning in the 6300 block of South Nashville Avenue in the Clearing West neighborhood on the Southwest Side. Police said he demanded the officer's wallet and shot him.
Police said the off-duty officer was coming home from picking up his 2-year-old son when the attack occurred.
Police said that Froylan, wearing a gray hoodie, approached the officer as he was getting out of his car near 63rd Street and Nashville Avenue and announced a robbery. The officer took out his service weapon and said that he was a police officer. Froylan opened fire, striking the officer in the wrist and chest, Riccio said. The officer returned fire, striking his attacker at least once.
In all, 10 gunshots were exchanged between the two, Riccio said. One bullet hit a window in the officer's car where his son was sitting, but the boy was unharmed.
Officials said that Froylan left the scene in a vehicle, and police were able to piece together several surveillance videos to track in which direction he fled. Riccio said that Froylan lives in west surburban Westmont, but police determined that he fled to a relative's house in neighboring Summit after the shooting.

Off-duty corrections officer shot

The officer, a seven-year veteran, had just finished his shift and was driving north on Interstate 57 around 2 a.m. when he suspected he was being followed. He pulled off the expressway in the 9500 block of South State Street and a car followed him.
The officer was alone in his Jaguar when he stopped.
Someone in the vehicle trailing him pulled up alongside his car, pulled a hoodie over his head and began firing at the officer, who was still seated in the car. It was not known what, if anything they said to the officer.
The Officer was shot once in the back once in the jaw and four times in his arm and shoulder area.
The officer was in surgery this morning at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County where they were trying to repair his jaw.
Police said the man's condition had stabilized.

Man charged with trying to kill officer in gold Coast attack

A man accused of trying to kill a Chicago police officer after a Gold Coast shoplifting was denied bail today.
Police say Michael D. Holmes, 20, was part of a group that stole clothes from American Apparel, 46 E. Walton St., in the Gold Coast neighborhood about 6:10 p.m. Nov. 18 and then almost killed an officer while making their escape.
When an officer tried to stop Holmes and the other suspects from fleeing in a car, the getaway vehicle sped toward the officer. The officer, who said he feared for his life, fired his gun but did not hit any of the suspected thieves. The officer wasn't injured.
Holmes' public defender told Judge Edward Harmening that Holmes was a passenger in the car.
Holmes, of the 8400 block of South Exchange Avenue, was arrested after a foot chase last Thursday, 10 days after the crime, prosecutors said. Harmening denied him bail on the count of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer. Holmes also faces charges of aggravated assault on an officer and felony theft.

Parolee charged with trying to hit cop with stolen SUV

A 20-year-old parolee accused of trying to hit an off-duty Chicago police officer with a stolen SUV was ordered held today in lieu of a $500,000 bond.
Lawrence R. Coleman was shot by the officer in the left wrist during the altercation. Coleman is charged with attempted first-degree murder of a police officer and four other felonies in the incident, which occurred Thursday night in the Bronzeville neighborhood.
Coleman was driving a stolen Honda CRV north on South Prairie Avenue about 10 p.m. Thursday when he passed a squad car heading the opposite direction that was outfitted with a license plate reader.
The device notified the officers that the CRV was stolen, so the officers made a U-turn and pulled Coleman over.
The officers got out of their car and ordered Coleman to turn off the CRV, but he sped away, driving north on Martin Luther King Drive, according to court documents. He turned left onto 37th Street but lost control, striking a pole and a woman before hitting a wall.
A Chicago police officer who had just finished his shift was in his car with his girlfriend at the intersection when they saw the chase unfolding just before Coleman crashed.
The off-duty officer, who was wearing his uniform, got out of his car to help the woman who had been struck, but Coleman put the CRV into reverse and hit the officer’s car, where his girlfriend was seated.
The officer then stood in front of the CRV and ordered Coleman to get out, but Coleman drove at him instead.
The officer fired several shots, one of which struck Coleman in the left wrist.
Coleman and the officer’s girlfriend were treated at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center and released, according to court records. The woman who was struck by the stolen SUV was treated at University of Chicago Hospitals and released.
Coleman, of the 4900 block of South Drexel Boulevard, is on parole from a 2010 conviction for driving a stolen vehicle. He is also charged in Thursday’s incident with aggravated assault of a police officer with a vehicle, possessing a stolen vehicle, and two counts of aggravated fleeing causing bodily injury

Attempted murder charges against teen in car that tried to hit Police Officer

Attempted murder charges have been filed against a teen who was riding in a car that tried to strike a police officer after a store robbery off North Michigan Avenue.
The officer fired a shot at the car as it sped from the American Apparel store at 46 E. Walton St. around 6 p.m. on Nov. 18 but he did not hit anyone.
Devontae Anderson, 17, of the 6100 block of South Eberhart Avenue, has been charged with attempted murder of a peace officer, aggravated assault to a peace officer and retail theft.
In court today a judge set bail at $100,000 for Anderson, who has a juvenile background of retail theft and a battery which occurred four days prior to the Mag Mile incident.
Just four days before the robbery, Anderson had pleaded guilty to battery.
On Nov. 18, Anderson and the three others parked near American Apparel. He and two others went and grabbed $2,568 worth of clothing from racks and ran back to the car.
A police officer spotted them and stood in front of the car and ordered them to stop.

The driver headed toward the officer, who jumped out of the way and fired one shot through the windshield on the driver’s side but didn’t hit anyone. The car, with Anderson in the back seat, smashed into two parked cars while fleeing.
The four split the proceeds, and Anderson gave the driver $40 for the damage to his car.
Anderson was arrested after he told a friend about the robbery and the friend went to police.
Warrants have been issued for the three other people

Officer wounded, at least 1 other shot on South Side

A Chicago police officer suffered what is believed to be a graze wound and at least one other person was shot and killed in an incident in the South Chicago neighborhood late Wednesday.
The officer was wounded and at least one person was shot and critically wounded in what was believed to be an exchange of gunfire involving Chicago Police near 79th Street and Coles Avenue about 11:45 p.m..
The officer is a woman in her late 20s or early 30s. She was shot in the leg and taken to Advocate Trinity Hospital for treatment. Her wound is not believed to be life-threatening.
UPDATE:
Chicago police officer was grazed in the leg as officers opened fire and killed a man who lunged at them with a hammer after stabbing another man.
The officers first used a Taser on the man when they arrived in the 7900 block of South Shore Drive around 11:45 p.m. and saw him stabbing the other man. The Taser had "no effect," police said, and the man pulled out a hammer and ran toward the officers.
The department would not say whether the wounded officer shot herself or was hit by another officer as they fired at the man..
The man suffered several gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The wounded officer was driven by another officer to Advocate Trinity Hospital, where she was treated for a graze wound to the leg and released.
The man who was stabbed was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition