The team of robbers worked stealthily and in broad daylight, following their elderly victims from grocery stores and pharmacies to their homes, sometimes for as long as a half hour.
Then, they attacked, taking purses, wallets, money and, at least once, groceries, authorities said.
Since October, authorities say, a group of men has robbed at least 24 people, most of them elderly, in southeastern Chicago, nearby suburbs and northwest Indiana.
“These guys were absolutely vicious with their attacks,” said Sgt. John Daley of the Burnham Police Department. They knocked a 91-year-old woman under her car and knocked one 92-year-old man’s teeth out, he said.
On Saturday, police arrested two of the men after a woman and her daughter were robbed in southeast Chicago, South Chicago District Cmdr. Dana Alexander said.
Landon Shaw and Brandon Green, both 19, both of Gary, were captured after three Chicago police officers with the Illiana Task Force tracked them to a gas station near Hammond, where they fled. Using the license plate number of their car, police tracked the men to a home in Gary.
Two hours later, police arrested Shaw and Green, both of the 1700 block of West 5th Avenue.
Within days, police also arrested Milo Joseph Walker Jr., 24, of the 2300 block of Maryland Street, and Maurice Reed, 25, of the 2600 block of East 22nd Place, both of Gary. Police say there could be additional suspects.
All four men, alleged gang members, attacked the victims violently, even those who cooperated, police said.
The men have confessed to 24 robberies, police said. Nine occurred in Hammond, six in Chicago, four in Calumet City, three in Burnham, one in Lansing and one in Dolton, police said. Charges of robbery, carjacking and battery have been filed in Lake County, Ind., and charges are pending on other cases, police said.
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arozas@tribune.com
