Lauren O’Brien, 18, is accused of robbing a Lincoln Park business by threatening a clerk with a syringe. (CBS)
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UPDATED 06/01/12 5:30 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) — A northwest suburban woman is now the second person charged in a rash of robberies in the Lincoln Park neighborhood last month, in which she allegedly used a syringe as a weapon.
Lauren O’Brien, 18, of the 300 block of Morgan Lane in Fox River Grove, was charged with one count of armed robbery with a dangerous weapon and one count of aggravated robbery, police said. She is scheduled to appear in court Friday.
In a similar robbery on the same block, O’Brien is also accused of robbing a clerk of $120 about 11:20 a.m. May 20, police said. This time she displayed a knife instead of a syringe.
O’Brien is the second person arrested for using a knife or syringe to rob businesses in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, attacks that prompted police to issue a community alert.
Austin Pierce, 25, of the 2800 block of North Oakley Avenue, was charged May 25 with three counts of armed robbery with a dangerous weapon, police said. He was allegedly armed with a syringe in two of the robberies and a knife in the third.
O’Brien and Pierce allegedly targeted nail and tanning salons in Lincoln Park, mostly in the western part of the neighborhood near DePaul University.
Two businesses on Fullerton Avenue were robbed – one in the 1300 block around 5:30 p.m. May 15, and another in the 1200 block around 9:15 a.m. May 21.
Two more businesses on Webster Avenue – in the 900 and 1100 blocks were also robbed within the same week.
Pierce was being held Thursday night in the Cook County Jail on $10,000 bond, according to the sheriff’s office.
It’s not clear if there is a relationship between O’Brien and Pierce.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
