Jamba Juice Employee Charged In Armed Robbery
CHICAGO (STMW) - A man and woman were charged after he allegedly held up the North Side restaurant where she worked, tied her and another staffer up with duct tape and threw them in a freezer Wednesday morning.
Da Naan Fujiwara, 19, of the 4500 block of Beau Monde Dr. in Lisle; and 21-year-old Kevin Martin of the 3000 block of Creekside Dr. in Plainfield are charged with one count each of armed robbery, according to police.
Fujiwara works at the Jamba Juice at 2112 N. Clyborn Ave. where the robbery occurred Wednesday about 6:45 a.m.
Judge Maria Kuriakos-Ciesil ordered Fujiwara held on $250,000 bond and Martin held on $350,000 bond, according to Cook County State's Attorney's office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton. Both are scheduled for a preliminary hearing Dec. 15 in North Felony Court (Br. 42).
Chicago Police said Martin works at a Jamba Juice in west suburban Warrenville and is also being investigated for a robbery there.
The victim and Fujiwara told police responding to the robbery that they were outside the store smoking and when they went back in, Martin followed, according to a police report.
Martin took out a handgun and ordered them onto the floor in the back room. When he asked who could open the safe, both said they could, but Martin told Fujiwara to open it and fill cardboard box with the cash. He then duct taped other staffer's ankles and wrists, according to the report.
Martin then told Fujiwara to open a door to the alley and made her get on the ground, while he also duct-taped her, the report said.
He picked them up one by one and placed them in a freezer, shut the door and blocked the door with a foot rack. He then pulled the phones from the walls and fled, according to the report.
The staffer with Fujiwara was able to free himself and called 911. Martin, who had fled southbound, apprehended by police who heard a description and saw him enter a taxi at Racine and Clyborn. Police pulled over the taxi and found Martin with the cash about 7 a.m.
Fujiwara was arrested about 3-1/2 hours later at the Near North District police station, police said. Police later determined that Fujiwara was a "willing participant" in the planning and execution of the robbery, the report said.
The Warrenville Jamba Juice, in the 2800 block of Diehl Road, was robbed Nov. 30, according to the city website. Two suspects entered the business at closing time, displayed a handgun and demanded money.
The suspects were described as males in their early 20s to late 30s of average build. Warrenville police were not immediately available to comment.
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