Businesses, police step up in Wrigleyville after pattern of armed robberies
CHICAGO (CBS) -- This weekend, businesses and police are shifting resources to Wrigleyville – after five men were abducted or lured into cars, robbed, and released last weekend.
CBS 2's Sabrina Franza talked with one of the victims Friday. What happened last weekend was painful for the victim who asked to remain completely anonymous in his off-camera phone conversation with Franza.
We know all five victims were taken into cars, robbed of their phones and wallets, and then let go.
Police said in each instance, the attackers used a similar tactic – first striking up a conversation with the victim, then holding them at gunpoint and forcing them into the car.
In at least one case, the criminals went after the victim's savings account. In another, the criminals stole the victim's from the Apple account associated with their iPhone.
Now, businesses and police are ramping up security.
"This will feel like the safest neighborhood in the city right now, because of all that boosted up security at each business, as well as more police presence," said Zach Strauss, owner of Sluggers at 3540 N. Clark St.
Sluggers has been located on the first block south of Wrigley Field on Clark Street for 38 years. It sits right in the middle of the round of robberies this past weekend.
One of the incidents police identified took place early this past Saturday morning, while four more occurred early Sunday morning.
The first robbery happened around 12:15 a.m. Saturday in the 3500 block of North Clark Street. The second robbery happened around midnight Sunday morning in the 3400 block of North Clark Street. About 15 minutes later, the robbers struck again outside the Taco Bell Cantina at 1107 W. Addison St.
The fourth robbery also happened early on Sunday morning in the 3600 block of North Clark Street. The fifth also happened in the 1100 block of West Addison Street.
Kyle Mortimer told CBS 2's Marissa Perlman the situation has amounted to a real-life nightmare on Clark Street. One of the abductions happened right along his block.
"That guy just got picked up literally just right off the street – I mean, held at gunpoint," Mortimer said.
Mortimer had been asleep at the time, but not for long.
"Last Saturday, like 1 a.m., I heard this loud screech of tires to the point where it like woke me up," he said. "I looked out my bedroom window – which looks right over the street - and sure enough, I see this gray sedan that I saw in the news report like later on that Sunday."
Mortimer would later find out a man had been picked up and robbed at gunpoint outside his apartment.
"Very scary – I mean like, it's happening more and more," he said. "I keep hearing about people just getting picked up."
Now, CBS 2 has learned that businesses and police will ramp up security for this weekend – and the next, which is the weekend of Halloween. Chicago Police told us they intend to shift resources to the area around Wrigley Field for that time period.
"The worst advertising a neighborhood can get is when something like this happens, because they do tend to become hesitant to go out in these neighborhoods and stay out late," he said.
Bars like Sluggers say it is a time to start working more with police – but also time to hire more private security onsite. They pledge to walk anyone who seems to need help to a car an Uber safely – and hope this slew of attacks does not impact business this weekend.
"For a city to succeed financially; economically, you need tourism. You need to take money from other areas of the world," Strauss said, "and if people aren't going to come to certain areas, then businesses are going to struggle. That's just the way it is."
Strauss also had a message to the robbers.
"This is a business for them," he said. "Get a real job."
Later, Friday night was almost balmy for October in Chicago. Wrigleyville was packed with patrons who were all reminded to be prepared.
"You don't know what's going to happen, but you still want to have fun," said DePaul University student Fatima Usain.
"It's Halloween. It's fall – everyone's favorite season - and it's like you need to be scared of being kidnapped," said DePaul student Sama Kamil.
Meanwhile, in light of these incidents, the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce is also ramping up patrols and reinvesting in their security budget through the end of the year.
"I don't know how often these assailants think that they can keep doing it in the same neighborhood and get away with it," said Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Maureen Martino.
CBS 2's Perlman spoke with a private security company that has been stationed in Wrigleyville for almost a decade.
Their advice was to leave in groups, be careful whom you're meeting and what you're sharing at bars, and watch how much you're drinking – so you don't become the next target.
We also looked into how the victims could get their money back after at least one had his bank account cleaned out. We found federal law Regulation E, which requires banks to protect customers whose money is stolen through an unauthorized ATM transfer "induced by force."
It is important that the victim notify their bank within 48 hours of the robbery to minimize any separate penalties.
Police have not made any arrests in the five robberies.
