Facebook helps police ID offender with suspect handgun
According to a release from the City of Elmhurst, Police Chief Michael Ruth reports the arrest of a 15-year-old juvenile from Hammond, Ind., in relation to an armed robbery that occurred on the 100 block of E. North Avenue in Elmhurst on the evening of Nov. 27, 2017.
The Elmhurst Police Department conducted an investigation after the victim reported to police that he responded to a Facebook post offering an I-Phone 7 for sale. The victim met with two people, described as male/blacks wearing black hoodies on the 100 block of E. North Ave. One of the suspects produced a handgun, announced a robbery, stole the victim’s cash, and both fled. The investigation revealed the suspects fled the scene in a 2006 Chevrolet van, which had been reported stolen from Hammond, Ind.
On Nov. 28, Elmhurst detectives responded to assist the South Holland Police Department, which had recovered the stolen van and pursued several suspects fleeing from the vehicle. A weapon matching the description of the handgun used in the Elmhurst robbery was recovered. Elmhurst detectives served search warrants on Facebook for account information related to the ruse robbery transaction, which identified the 15-year-old Hammond juvenile offender and showed him in possession of the handgun.
The juvenile offender was recently taken into custody in Cook County for an unrelated weapons offense and transferred to DuPage County authorities. The juvenile offender appeared in DuPage County Juvenile Court for the Elmhurst Armed Robbery case on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
Elmhurst residents are reminded that on-line transactions that require a face-to-face meeting can always take place in the lobby of the Elmhurst Police Station. The police lobby provides a safe environment for these transactions and is staffed 24 hours a day.
