Two men and a teenage boy have have been charged in connection with at least four armed robberies in Waukegan, including one where two of the suspects beat one of the victims, police said.
The Waukegan Police Department responded to two armed robbery calls Wednesday evening. The first one occurred around 5:40 p.m. in the 1100 block of Westmoreland Avenue.
The victim told officers that he was on foot in the area when an older model Honda minivan stopped next to him. Someone got out from the vehicle with what appeared to be a shotgun and demanded his property and money, the Waukegan Police Department said.
The victim was not injured during the incident and the minivan left the scene traveling southbound, police said.
Around 30 minutes later, officers responded to an armed robbery call in the first block of Pioneer Road north of Washington Street. The victim told officers he was walking in the area when multiple suspects jumped out of an older Honda minivan and one of them was armed with what appeared to be a shotgun.
The suspects demanded the victim’s property and money before they fled the scene. The victim was not injured during the incident.
Around 9:45 p.m. that same evening, a police officer saw an older model Honda minivan driving recklessly in the 100 block of North Butrick Street with multiple people inside it.
Police officers conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and located a rifle during the investigation. All of the occupants were transported to the Waukegan Police Department for further investigation.
The driver of the minivan, Donald Palmer, 44, of North Chicago, was arrested and charged with two counts of armed robbery, two counts of armed habitual criminal, possession of a firearm by a felon, battery and robbery.
A 17-year-old boy was also arrested and charged with armed robbery and unlawful use of a weapon and transported to the Depke Juvenile Center in Vernon Hills. Three other occupants of the minivan were released without charges.
Palmer and another suspect, Gregory Battle, 20, of Waukegan, were linked to two other armed robberies that occurred on Thanksgiving, police said.
The Waukegan Police Department responded on November 28 around 9:15 a.m. to the 400 block of Lincoln Avenue. A victim told police that he was on foot when a gold Buick sedan pulled up next to him and the passenger, identified as Battle, exited the sedan and displayed a black gun.
Battle demanded the victim’s property and money before getting back into the sedan, which was driven by Palmer, and fleeing the scene.
Five minutes later, a victim in the 100 block of South Martin Avenue was on foot when the gold Buick sedan pulled up next to him. Both Palmer and Battle exited the sedan and beat the victim before taking his property and money, police said.
Palmer remains held in the Lake County Jail on a $500,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court again on January 8.
An arrest warrant carrying a $300,000 bond has been issued for Battle, who is currently being held in the Racine, Wisconsin County Jail. He has been charged with armed robbery, aggravated robbery, robbery and battery.