If Only They Had A Gun

A clerk at Wheeler’s Convenience Store, 142 Dickinson St., was shot in the abdomen by a masked gunman during a robbery Sunday morning, police said. The 38-year-old male clerk was rushed into surgery at Baystate Medical Center following the 11:30 a.m. shooting, and is expected to survive, said Sgt. John M. Delaney. Police say a man in a hooded sweatshirt and wearing a mask entered the store, pointed a small-caliber handgun at the clerk and demanded money from the register, Delaney said. He shot the clerk apparently because he felt the man was not emptying the register quickly enough, Delaney said. After the shooting, the robber jumped over the counter, grabbed money out of the register, and fled, he said. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

Toledo police have issued a warrant for the suspect accused of targeting women in five robberies, including one that escalated to rape. In at least two of the crimes committed in the last 10 days, the suspect hid in the backseat of the female victim’s unlocked car and ordered her at gunpoint to drive to an ATM and turn over cash, police said. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

A Yonkers man, who reportedly raped and robbed a woman over a three hour period in an act of revenge against her boyfriend, has been sentenced to 20 years in state prison and 25 years parole. Kevin Denham, 28, had been convicted by a Westchester County Court jury of two counts of rape in the first degree, two counts of burglary in the first degree, two counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree, one count of robbery in the first degree, one count of assault in the second degree, and one count of criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, according to news reports. The attack reportedly took place on March 1, 2009 when Denham broke into the woman’s Yonkers apartment through a rear window and attacker her as she slept in her bed. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

A Woodhull, Illinois man is reportedly facing six felony counts for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women March 1 on Big Island in Rock Island County. Jason W. Kugler, 29, was reportedly charged in Rock Island County Circuit Court with six Class X counts, which each carry up to 30 years in prison upon conviction. He faces two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, two counts of armed robbery and two counts of aggravated kidnapping. According to the charges, Kugler was armed with a weapon when he committed the crimes. The robbery counts allege that he stole each victim’s purse. The two women are 25 and 23 years old. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

Prosecutors allege a New Hampshire man obsessed with getting a Harley-Davidson motorcycle beat his landlord to death, assumed his identify, and then stole his pickup truck in order to trade it for a motorcycle.  It is alleged that Paul McDonald traded his landlord’s new truck for the motorcycle and an older truck before fleeing to Vermont, where he was reportedly arrested.  Wilcox was found dead in June 2008 in the basement of the Danville home where McDonald lived as his tenant, according to police. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

A taxi cab driver was stabbed and critically injured Thursday night by a passenger in the West Town neighborhood during a robbery attempt, according to police. The attack occured at about 11:30 p.m. near Western Avenue and Hirsch Street, said Chicago Police Officer Hector Alfaro. The male assailant then fled the scene, and the cab driver was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, Alfaro said. No suspects are in custody. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

The victim, Patricia Hall, said two men she did not know forced their way into her home wearing masks and gloves. She also told investigators stole some items, and stabbed her before leaving. Hall is reportedly hospitalized and listed in fair condition. No suspects are in custody, police say. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

Police spent Saturday searching for a man they believed rammed into two cars in separate incidents Monday morning, raping one woman who got out to investigate the crash and robbing another. Police say the crimes happened in Dilworth and Myers Park, and officers have urged women to use caution and even not to get out of their cars if they get into a wreck. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

Police are searching for a man who stabbed his former co-worker during an armed robbery Saturday morning at a Lincoln Park car wash, on Chicago’s north side. The victim, a man in his 30s, was stabbed about 8:29 a.m. at a car wash at 1415 W. Shakespeare Ave., police say. The robber was the man’s former co-worker at the car wash and fled with an unknown amount of cash, according to police.  More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

Police are searching for two robbers who shot a 40-year-old man in the back during a robbery about 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The man was reportedly loading in his car at 1597 East 30th St. when two teenage robbers approached him. One of the robbers pulled out a gun and took the man’s wallet, but after opening the wallet said “that’s not enough. Get in the car. We are going to the ATM,” according to police. The suspect drove to East 30th Street and Payne Avenue, where he had to stop in heavy traffic. The victim jumped out of the car and ran. The robber fired, shooting the man in the back, and both robbers fled. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

39 year old ice cream truck driver Amarjit Kaur was reportedly shot in the chest by a pair of armed robbers as she was parked near Springstowne Middle School. A 15 year old and a 14 year old have reportedly been arrested in connection with the crime, and Kaur remains hospitalized. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

Bond has reportedly been set at $4 million for a man accused of first-degree murder after authorities said he stabbed his 70-year-old landlord about 50 times near Antioch, Illinois last week. Jason Baker, 37, and his girlfriend Kimberly Caldwell, 37, had been living with David Queen in the 40200 block of Deep Lake Round for about a week before Baker robbed and stabbed Queen sometime around midnight Thursday night, Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said today. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

A man required hospitalization after he was beaten and robbed in the bathroom of a night club, on the 150 block of West Ontario Street in Chicago early today. The robbery appeared to be a random act, police reportedly said. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

Armed men struck an Oak Cliff apartment complex late Tuesday, holding a baby at gunpoint and robbing her mother before fatally shooting a 32-year-old man and injuring his two brothers in a separate incident. Investigators believe the three robbers first accosted the baby’s mother in the complex parking lot in the 300 block of North Ewing Avenue, near East Eighth Street. The men then went to her apartment, where she lives with her husband and five children. One robber held a gun to the woman’s 10-month-old daughter’s head, police said. The men stole nearly $2,000 worth of cash and electronics. Minutes later, the robbers encountered one of the brothers on a second-floor balcony and forced him into his apartment, police said. Police do not believe the shootings were drug- or gang-related, Miller said. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

A 20 year old man from the West Side of Chicago has been charged in connection with a 3 day robbery and rape spree against unarmed victims. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

A Chicago man was shot in the thigh after an armed robber was angered by his lack of money. At 10:30PM on Wednesday, a 30 year old man was walking to a friend’s house on the 6200 block of South Francisco Avenue when an armed robber came up behind him and demanded money. The man replied that he had no money, at which point the gunman shot him in the back of his right thigh and then fled. The victim was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn for treatment. The gunman was described as an 18-year-old Hispanic man wearing a dark-colored hood, and remains at large.  More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

A pair of teenagers, aged 16 and 18, have been charged with attempted first degree murder, armed robbery, and aggravated battery in connection with the home invasion robbery and stabbing of a Streamwood man. Police say that a 16 year old Schaumburg High School student, 18 year old Carmichael Nation (a Jamaican national), and a 3rd accomplice who is at large, entered the home of a Streamwood man to steal a safe on Saturday morning. The suspects allegedly held down the victim, stabbed him in the stomach, chest, and legs, and robbed him. The victim has undergone extensive surgery to repair the damage caused by the stabbing that he suffered, and is reportedly in stable condition as St. Alexius Hospital. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

Two men from Kankakee, IL have been charged with armed robbery and possession of a stolen vehicle after police say that they carjacked a good Samaritan who tried to help them after their car rolled over on I-57. Police say that 28 year old James A. Tallent, and 27 year old William C. Blunt, two men from Kankakee, were involved in a rollover crash on I-57, near 139th Street at about 4:30AM yesterday. A good Samaritan saw the rolled over vehicle, and stopped his 2000 Lexus SUV to try and help. Tallent and Blunt then allegedly threw the good Samaritan to the ground and stole his vehicle. Police reportedly found the stolen Lexus near Blunt’s home, where one of the men was arrested. The other man was arrested shortly thereafter in a nearby apartment building. Police also say that about half an hour before the rollover crash and carjacking, one or possibly both of the suspects was involved in the robbery of the Bradley, Illinois BP Fast and Fresh gas station. In that robbery, one man is said to have entered the gas station, armed with a black handgun, and demanded “all” the money. The man then pistol whipped an employee, and ordered him into the cooler, before stealing cash, beer, and other items, according to police.  More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

Lucy’s Sweet Surrender is the last remaining bakery on Buckeye Road in Cleveland, Ohio. It is well known for its Hungarian treats, and loved by neighborhood residents who lament the closing of the other Hungarian bakeries. Now the owner is considering closing shop due to brazen armed robbery that left his wife, Marika Feigenbaum, shot and pistol whipped. Marika was in the baker when an armed robber entered and demanded that she open the safe and give him large amounts of money. Marika truthfully responded that there was no safe, and that only small amounts of cash were on hand.  Enraged, the robber pistol whipped the woman’s head and shot her in the shoulder, then fled.  More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.

An 85 year old woman in Rossmoor, California stated that the home invasion and brutal rape she suffered two years ago was a worse experience than the holocaust. Thee woman (who name is not given for privacy reasons) was 13 years old when the holocaust came to her native country of Czechoslovakia. Her parents and five siblings were killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp, and she herself was beaten. A man who her parents had trusted to keep her safe was sexually abusive, and stole the little money that her mother had sewn into her jacket, before he abandoned her in the winter (without a jacket).

However, she told Superior Court Judge Daniel B. McNerney that an experience two years ago was even worse: She was confronted in her kitchen by a brutal home intruder. Her house was ransacked. Her life was threatened. The man beat her mercilessly. He kicked her when she was down. And he repeatedly sexually assaulted her in several rooms of her house. More information here.

Things might have turned out differently if only they had a gun.