An alert Wicker Park resident who responded to the screams of a woman who had been pulled into an alley is credited with leading police to two men charged in connection with recent attacks against women in that neighborhood, police said Tuesday.
Willie Moore, 28, of the 3600 block of West Douglas Boulevard is being held on a $400,000 bond and faces a charge of aggravated criminal sexual assault for a July 19 attack on a woman in the 1300 block of North Wicker Park Avenue, police said.
A second man, Dennis Robinson, 34, of the same address is being held on a $300,000 bond and faces a charge of aggravated kidnapping and robbery for pulling a woman into an alley Aug. 24, choking her and stealing her cell phone before he was scared away, police said.
Police said they are still looking for a third man who is responsible for at least one of the attacks that have put women in Wicker Park on edge.
Although neither Robinson nor Moore has been charged in any of the other attacks, police are checking to see whether they are linked to the other attacks. Police did not release photos of the men because they plan to do lineups with victims of other similar assaults that occurred in the neighborhood this summer.
The break for investigators came when a resident, who also is a member of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy, or CAPS, heard a women screaming after she was pulled into an alley in the 1700 block of North Honore Street around 4:20 a.m. Aug. 24, police said.
The victim had been talking to her boyfriend on her cell phone when she noticed a man standing next to a tree. After she passed the man, he went after her and dragged her into an alley where he threw her to the ground.
The resident was able to scare off the man, who ran off with the woman’s cell phone and into a waiting car. The witness memorized the license plate number of the car and called 911 to report it, police said.
The car was registered to a woman, but detectives conducted a number of surveillance missions to find out who might be using the car. On Sunday, officers stopped the car on Roosevelt Road with Robinson and Moore inside, and took them into custody.
Police believe Moore was waiting in the car that Robinson allegedly entered after the attack on the woman in the alley Aug. 24.
The string of sexual attacks that have put women on alert started in June:
June 15: A woman was assaulted in the 1300 block of North Damen Avenue.
June 22: A woman was attacked nearby in the 2000 block of West LeMoyne Street.
July 19: The attack in the 1300 block of North Wicker Park Avenue in which Moore faces charges.
After these assaults, police issued an alert and said the descriptions of the offenders were identical and that in each he grabbed the victim from behind. The attacks all occurred in the early-morning hours of the weekend as bars and clubs were clearing out.
Aug. 24: Besides the incident in which a resident copied down part of a license plate, two other women were sexually assaulted in Wicker Park. One assault took place in the 2100 block of West Crystal Street. The other, in which the description of the offender does not match the others, took place in the 2000 block of West Willow.
Because the offender in that case is described as Hispanic and the other attacks involved an offender described as African-American, police do not believe it is related.
Robinson, a registered sex offender, is scheduled to appear in court next week, police said. He has previously served time for criminal sexual assault and for weapons violations. Moore is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 3.
Residents relieved, but wary
News that police had made arrests in the recent attacks on women in Wicker Park brought relief Tuesday to residents who have been passing out whistles, holding anti-crime marches and plastering store windows with fliers this summer to warn women about sexual attacks happening in the early morning hours.
“Good,” said Shannon Shuel, 32, as she walked her dogs Tuesday afternoon.
Since news of the attacks spread, women have been quicker to call for cabs and more hesitant to walk alone, always with an eye on the dark streets around them when heading home.
“I’ve been more aware of what’s happening around the corner,” said Amy Dobbs, 25.
Police said women shouldn’t let their guard down.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ve arrested the last predator” in the city, said Area 5 Detective Commander Lee Epplen.
But Epplen credited the response of the community with the break in the case. Officers had been asking residents to keep an eye out, and it was the information provided by one man who responded to a woman’s cries for help that helped them in this case.
“This is one citizen looking out for another, which makes everything in our society work,” Epplen said.
Ald. Manny Flores, whose ward covers the area, said this summer on edge has been a learning experience for some people.
“We need to remind ourselves this remains overall a safe community,” he said. “But people still need to be aware of their surroundings.”
With the strips of restaurants and bars along Damen, North and Milwaukee Avenues, the people spilling out onto the streets through the night lends a sense of security, residents said. The past few months of attacks have sobered people up to the idea that Wicker Park can be a target for criminals just as much as any other place in the city.
“Wicker Park is such a well-populated neighborhood, so people are under the illusion that it’s safe, but it’s not safe at 3:30 a.m.,” said Jennifer Koehler, president of the Chicago chapter of the National Organization for Women.
NOW and other community groups participated in a march through the neighborhood earlier this month with Flores and Mayor Daley.
The march was “to show unity and to show that we’re paying attention and watching,” Koehler said.
Next week, NOW and community policing groups are scheduled to sit down and come up with a plan to organize quickly when a neighborhood is plagued with a string of similar assaults so the community can stand up to the predator, she said.
Unfortunately, with one incident, people may think it’s an isolated incident and still feel they are safe, but when there’s another attack and another one, that can make everyone feel like a target, Koehler said.
“The proximity to one another and the time frame really strikes a chord with people,” she said.
Since the attacks started, cabs have been more of a priority for women leaving bars alone, said Matt Lindner, co-owner of Cans, 1640 N. Damen Ave.
“Our door guys are always pretty well-informed, if they see someone leaving alone, they might say something about it,” he said.
Flores said the chain of events leading to the arrests illustrates the importance of community involvement.
“We have a lot of young people, a lot of young professionals, and we all get caught up in our lives, but part of living is this civic responsibility,” he said.
Cops see similarities in Lincoln Park case
Police said Tuesday the description of a rapist responsible for an attack in the Lincoln Park neighborhood is similar to the description of an offender in one of the Wicker Park assaults.
But authorities said they have not definitely linked the two cases.
On Aug. 10, a 34-year-old woman was walking home from a nearby bar in Lincoln Park when she was attacked from behind on the 1900 block of North Burling Street. She was shoved to the ground and hit her head on the concrete. The attacker raped her and ran away.
Family and friends are offering a $30,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the rapist.
The Wicker Park assault occurred on Aug. 24 in the 2000 block of West Willow Street. The victim was walking home when she was attacked. Neighbors and the woman’s boyfriend responded when they heard the victim scream, and the attacker ran away. –C.Y.
