Crime & Safety
Chicago Man Wielded Machete, Robbed Multiple Victims On NW Side: CPD
Andre Gonzalez, 35, faces four counts of armed robbery with a dangerous weapon after police said he approached the victims with the weapon.
CHICAGO — A 35-year-old Chicago man who police said robbed at least eight people while armed with a machete on the city’s Northwest Side has been arrested and charged with felony offenses, police said Wednesday.
Andre Gonzalez faces four felony counts of armed robbery with a dangerous weapon and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
Gonzalez was arrested by the Chicago Police Department and the Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force in the 10000 block of Avenue B on Wednesday. Police said he was identified as the man who robbed victims while in possession of a machete, police said.
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Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said that Gonzalez went on a crime spree over nine days beginning on May 27. Brown said that Gonzalez has five previous felony convictions, including two involving weapons as well as robbery and attempted robbery. The weapons convictions, one of which involved a vehicle, occurred in 2007, Brown said.
Gonzalez was arrested after police pulled his vehicle over near his home on Chicago's South Side.
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Police said previously that they believed the man was involved in at least eight robberies but said that three had taken place since June 3. Those incidents involved a total of four victims, three of whom are women, police said.
In the latest incident, which took place over the weekend, Brown said Gonzalez approached a man and displayed the machete. The victim threw his wallet and the pizza he was carrying at Gonzalez in an attempt to distract him. Brown said that Gonzalez swung the machete at the victim, which knocked the man to the ground. Gonzalez then left the scene.
Brown said that they have not yet recovered the machete. He said that Gonzalez was using his girlfriend's car in the robberies, but said that no one people have been taken into custody at this time. Brown said that Gonzalez could face further charges.
"We have taken him off the streets hopefully for a long time," Brown said at Wednesday's news conference. "(But) our work is not yet done."
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