Man charged in string of sandwich shop robberies
The above video is from a previous report
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man has been charged with robbing sandwich shops in the Loop and West Loop three times in June and July.
Police said 31-year-old Nicholas Wardford was arrested on Monday, charged with three counts of armed robbery, after he was identified as the man who twice robbed a sandwich shop in the 1200 block of South Canal Street on June 25 and July 15, and also robbed a sandwich shop in the 600 block of South Wabash Avenue on July 18.
Wardford's arrest comes after police issued a community alert last month about a string of at least 11 robberies of sandwich shops and other restaurants in the West Loop, Little Italy, Wicker Park, West Town, River North, the Loop, Bridgeport, and Garfield Ridge.
Incident times and locations:
- 1200 block of South Canal Street on June 25 at 4:20 a.m.
- 700 block of South Western Avenue on June 26 at 11:47 a.m.
- 2500 block of West North Avenue on June 27 at 10:45 a.m.
- 700 block of North Milwaukee Avenue on June 30 at 9:00 a.m.
- 0-99 block of West Ohio Street on July 8 at 4:00 a.m.
- 1200 block of South Canal Street on July 15 at 3:45 a.m.
- 1600 block of West Roosevelt Road on July 16 at 10:28 p.m.
- 600 block of South Wabash Avenue on July 18 at 3:48 a.m.
- 700 block of West 31st St on July 24 at 1:36 a.m.
- 5400 block of South Harlem Ave on July 28 at 3:25 a.m.
- 4700 block of South Cicero Ave on July 28 at 7:40 a.m.
Police said, in each of those robberies, a gunman would enter the business, go behind the counter, and either remove money from the register or order the employee to remove the money at gunpoint.
In one of the incidents, the robber became aggressive and hit the victim in the side of the face.
Police issued surveillance images of a suspect in those robberies, many of which involved Subway restaurants that are open 24 hours a day, and were robbed in the early morning or late night hours.
It was not immediately clear if Wardford would face charges in all 11 of those robberies.