An Alsip, Illinois man is accused of forcing a man to withdraw at gunpoint hundreds of dollars in cash from a Highland ATM.
Patrick J. Novak, 26, is charged with armed robbery, a Level 3 felony.
Around 2 a.m. on March 23, police responded to an armed robbery that took place in the parking lot of Anytime Fitness, located at 9632 Cline Ave.
The victim was leaving Anytime Fitness when he heard and saw a small SUV coming toward him from the south end of the parking lot. It parked in front of him and three men wearing ski masks exited the SUV, with two brandishing guns and ordering him to stay in his vehicle.
They got in his vehicle and told him to drive to the nearby Chase Bank ATM, where he was ordered to take out cash, of which $500 was the maximum allowed amount. The suspects also grabbed his wallet and took his old license and three store credit cards. The men then exited his car and ordered him to leave the area. When he headed north on Cline Avenue, he noticed the suspects flee south on Cline Avenue.
Two detectives from Griffith Police contacted Highland since the suspects matched the description of a recent kidnapping and robbery case they were investigating. Police obtained video surveillance footage of the incident, which matched the description and chain of events given by the victim.
Police discovered that the silver Toyota RAV4 had been stolen in a carjacking in Alsip, Illinois. In addition, an Illinois law enforcement agency had tried to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle shortly after the Anytime Fitness robbery, but the driver fled from police, ultimately crashing the SUV and being arrested by the Blue Island Police Department.
Police took Novak, who was the sole occupant of the SUV, into custody and he was wearing the same black hooded sweatshirt with a yellow circle emblem as the suspect in the video. Police found the victim’s store credit cards and other cards in his name.
