Man Charged With Robbing Elderly Disabled Woman
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A 61-year-old South Shore man has been charged with robbing an elderly woman in a wheelchair last month while she was in the elevator of a residential building in the North Side Lakeview neighborhood.
Darren Berlin, who was on parole at the time of the crime, has been arrested and charged after "being identified as the offender" in the robbery which drew community outrage, according to Chicago Police.
Just before 9 a.m. Sunday, March 27, the victim, a 75-year-old woman in a wheelchair, was in the elevator of her building in the 3600 block of North Pine Grove, according to a statement from police.
Berlin "approached her in the elevator, grabbed her, and threw her from her wheelchair onto the elevator floor," police said.
He then went through the wheelchair's storage compartment before running away with the woman's belongings, police said.
The incident was caught on the building's security video, and community activist Andrew Holmes had offered a $1,000 reward for the robber's arrest.
Berlin was arrested on the South Side on April 7 for an unrelated incident and was later identified as the robber, police said.
He was charged with a felony count of robbery of a handicapped victim over 60, a misdemeanor count of criminal damage to property, a misdemeanor count of criminal trespass to vehicle, and a misdemeanor count of theft, police said. He was also being sought on a warrant charging a parole violation.
Berlin, of the 7500 block of South Luella Avenue, was expected to appear in bond court Friday.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2016. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)