Two taxicab drivers were charged with the armed robbery of a Lombard man after he was driven home by one of the suspects, authorities said this week.
One of the men, who police said stole cash from the 41-year-old victim at knifepoint early Tuesday, was identified after leaving the scene in a cab bearing the same company name as one in which the victim had ridden.
David Abdulkarim, 18, of the 900 block of West Lakeside Place, Chicago, and Charles Barrett, 38, of the 1600 block of Washington Street in Evanston, were charged with armed robbery. Abdulkarim was being held in lieu of $250,000 bail in the DuPage County Jail, and Barrett was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail in Evanston.
Each defendant faces from 6 to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Lombard Deputy Police Chief Dane Cuny said the victim had hired a taxi driven by Abdulkarim early Tuesday to run errands, then be taken home. Police said they believe that Abdulkarim became aware that the victim was carrying a significant amount of cash.
Shortly after arriving home, the victim was approached by Barrett, who threatened the victim with a knife and demanded the cash, which he was given, according to police.
Police said they believe that at some point, Abdulkarim had called Barrett, which led him to go to Lombard. The victim wasn’t physically harmed.
“The victim saw Barrett get into a taxicab that had the same marking as the taxi that he had just ridden in,” Cuny said. “It became apparent to our officers that something was correlated.”
Police declined to name the company but said it operates regularly in western suburbs.
The investigation led to Abdulkarim’s arrest by Lombard police and Barrett’s arrest by Evanston police.
“Sometimes it’s not how smart police are, but how dumb the criminals are,” Cuny said.
DuPage County State’s Atty. Joseph Birkett said, “If these allegations are true, these two men worked in concert to brazenly rob an innocent, unsuspecting man.”
———-
abarnum@tribune.com
