Prosecutors say a man followed a random woman who was walking in Zion before forcibly robbing her of her belongings, which a judge called “disturbing and brazen.”
Isidro Moreno-Sandiego, 34, of Winthrop Harbor, was charged with robbery, a Class 2 felony.
The Zion Police Department responded around 6:40 p.m. on October 26 to the 4100 block of Sheridan Road for a report of a robbery.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Theis said the victim reported she was walking on Sheridan Road from her residence.
The woman was walking to meet her boyfriend at his work near 33rd Street and Sheridan Road.
She noticed a man, later identified as Isidro Moreno-Sandiego, 34, following her on his bicycle, Theis said.
The woman stopped and hoped that the man would pass her but he remained.
She continued walking and Moreno-Sandiego continued following her, Theis said. He told her that he was trying to give her money.
The woman pulled out her phone to call her boyfriend and Moreno-Sandiego biked away from her.
He turned around and biked past the woman, stopping just south of her, at which point she tried to go around him, Theis said.
Theis said Moreno-Sandiego grabbed the victim’s backpack that she was carrying on her shoulder.
The woman told officers she feared for her life and let go of the backpack. Moreno-Sandiego also forcibly stole the woman’s phone from her hand, Theis said.
The victim ran away into a nearby restaurant where police were called.
A description of Moreno-Sandiego was given and officers located him near a supermarket.
Theis said officers stopped Moreno-Sandiego and found the victim’s backpack and cell phone, along with her driver’s license, in his possession.
The victim positively identified Moreno-Sandiego as the offender. She does not know the man and has no connection to him.
“This defendant followed [the victim], a woman by herself, walking down the sidewalk offering her money, then forcefully took her belongings when she tried to make a phone call,” Theis said.
“There is no reasonable explanation for the defendant’s behavior,” Theis added.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Moreno-Sandiego pending trial.
Lake County Judge Ari Fisz granted the petition after calling Moreno-Sandiego’s actions “disturbing and brazen” and noted that he “stalked” the woman as she walked alone down the street.
Fisz said Moreno-Sandiego poses a real and present threat to the community and that no conditions of release could mitigate the threat.
He remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on Thursday for an arraignment hearing.