Oak Lawn police have arrested three men and a juvenile and charged them in relation to an armed robbery that occurred last summer at a 7-Eleven store in the village.
Police arrested Jamarcus Harris, 20; Donta Reed, 23; and Damarion McClellan, 19, and a juvenile and charged them for the armed robbery that took place at 7:01 a.m. Aug. 30 at the 7-Eleven in the 4500 block of 95th Street.
According to police, officers arrived and discovered that five men held a cashier and customers at gun-point. The men ordered the customers to the ground and robbed them and the store of cash before fleeing.
One of the robbers attempted to steal a customer’s vehicle that was in the parking lot. However, he was unsuccessful. Police evidence technicians processed the scene and recovered clues as detectives scoured the area for additional details. They interviewed numerous individuals, police said.
Police Chief Dan Vittorio said that over the next eight months, Oak Lawn detectives employed multiple investigative techniques, executed 20 search warrants, and conducted multiple additional interviews, which led to the arrest of four of the suspects.
Three of the suspects were arrested with the assistance of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. According to Oak Lawn police, three of the suspects have a history of violence and weapons offenses. They have been charged with more than 50 felonies, including multiple armed robberies, aggravated unlawful uses of weapons, possession of stolen motor vehicles, and aggravated unlawful restraint.
Trustee Alex Olejniczak (2nd) thanked the Oak Lawn police force for their efforts and diligence in making these arrests and charging the suspects late Tuesday afternoon.
“This is just another testament of the great work of our police force,” said Olejniczak during the Oak Lawn Village Board meeting Tuesday night.
Trustee Ralph Soch (6th) also said thanking the police department for their work never gets old.
“I know I sound like a broken record but I can’t say enough about our police,” Soch said. “After eight months, they were able to gather the evidence to make these arrests. This really hits home. It just goes to show you that Oak Lawn is not a place where you want to commit a crime. Thank you chief and for all the hard work of the police.”
The men charged Tuesday afternoon are suspects in numerous crimes and armed robberies in Chicago, the south suburbs, and northwest Indiana, police said. Anyone with additional information can contact the Oak Lawn Police Detective Division, 708-907-4051, or text tips and video to 708-613-8477.
Oath of office
Officials took the oath of office at the meeting after being certified winners of the April 1 election. Terry Vorderer returns for a second term as mayor. Other officials who were sworn in include Village Clerk Claire Henning and trustees Olejniczak, James Pembroke (4th) and Soch.
Judge Demetrios “Jim” Kottares swore in the local officials. He also happens to be a neighbor of Vorderer.
“This is the most cohesive team that I have seen in the 50 years of coming to these meetings,” Vorderer said about the current board.
Summer concerts
Trustee Paul Mallo (3rd) reminded board members and residents that the Sunday Concert series will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. beginning June 8. The first concert will feature Hoodwink’d. The June 22 concert will feature The Flat Cats, and Charles and Co. will take the stage on June 28.
He also applauded the Oak Lawn varsity baseball team, which defeated Evergreen Park, 2-1, in a tight contest on Tuesday afternoon.
Scooter safety
Vorderer thanked Penbroke for originally alerting the board about an increase in youths riding scooters in the village and not always doing so safely.
“I have talked to mayors in other villages and they all say the same thing, that it could be dangerous riding these scooters,” the mayor said. “Some of these scooters can ride up to 30 miles an hour. Sometimes they blow through stop signs and don’t follow traffic regulations. They still have to follow traffic stops.”