As reported earlier last Tuesday, Naperville police received a report that an armed offender, wearing a black ski mask, approached a male victim, pointed a gun at him, and demanded the victim’s blue Toyota Corolla before driving away. Last Friday, the vehicle was reported used in an armed robbery in Champaign, Illinois.
The blue Toyota Corolla, which was taken at gunpoint from a 61 year-old Naperville man in the 0-99 block of Testa Drive Near Ogden Avenue about 10:00 a.m. Tuesday April 18, 2017, was used in an armed robbery later in the day. The victim last saw his vehicle and the offender heading southbound on Testa Drive toward Whispering Hills Drive and Jefferson Avenue. The vehicle was then used about three hours later during an armed robbery at Dotty’s Slots and Video Poker gambling parlor almost 150 miles away in Champaign, and was also reported as a suspicious vehicle at two different banks near the Champaign gambling parlor robbery.
2007 blue Toyota Corolla taken in an armed vehicular hijacking in Naperville.
TIMELINE …
On Tuesday, twenty minutes after the carjacking, the blue Toyota Corolla was caught on camera passing southbound through a Bolingbrook toll plaza on I-355.
The vehicle was next spotted about 1:00 p.m. Friday at the Dotty’s Slots and Video Poker at 12 East Green Street in Champaign. According to Champaign police, an occupant of the blue Toyota entered Dotty’s Slots and Video Poker at about 1:00 p.m. Friday, displayed a handgun, and robbed the store of an undisclosed amount of money.
At about 2:54 p.m. Friday, employees at a bank in Savoy, Illinois, south of Champaign, called 911 to report a suspicious vehicle in the bank parking lot. The vehicle was identified as the same blue Corolla, according to Champaign police.
At about 3:10 p.m., workers at a bank on Prospect Avenue in Champaign saw the blue Toyota on bank property and called police, according to Champaign police.
The car originally had a license plate of V265067, but Champaign police said the suspect or suspects may have replaced the owner’s license plate with stolen or other license plates.
SUSPECT …
The carjacking suspect was described to Naperville police as …
a male/black in his late teens or early 20s,
5’8″ with a thin build,
wearing all black and a black ski mask.
Dotty’s robbery suspect was described to Champaign police as …
a male/black in his late teens to early 20s with a thin build,
5’08”
wearing light blue jeans, black tennis shoes, a black shirt and a black mask that covered the bottom portion of his face, police said.
PRIOR CRIME …
Another Dotty’s Slots and Video Poker at 500 South Mattis Avenue was robbed April 9, 2017 at 2:10 a.m. A male suspect entered the gambling parlor near closing time, brandished a handgun and took an undisclosed amount of currency. The suspect was wearing a dark green hoodie, black pants and a black mask covering the lower half of his face. he displayed a black handgun.
In Naperville …
Anyone with information about the vehicular hijacking is asked to call the Naperville Police Department at 630-420-6666.
In Champaign …
Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to call police. For an in-progress incident, call 911 or contact the Champaign Police Department Investigations Division at 217-351-4545. Anonymous tips may also be submitted to Crime Stoppers by phone at: (217) 373-8477 (TIPS); online at www.373tips.com; or the “P3 Tips” mobile app. Crime Stoppers will pay a reward up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for these crimes.
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Naperville Police Warn of Carjackings: The Naperville Police are reminding residents to be aware of their surroundings after a number of local carjackings.
See also …
WCIA 2 gambling parlors hit by armed suspects