3 Charged With Armed Robbery Of Cell Phone Store In Lincolnwood

LINCOLNWOOD, IL — Two Chicago men and one boy are charged with armed robbery after authorities said they were among the five people who robbed a Lincolnwood cell phone store at gunpoint on Sunday.

Thomas Wilson, 27, of the 100 block of North Hermitage Avenue, Brandon Doss, 18, of the 8600 block of South Aberdeen Street, and their juvenile co-defendant were arrested within hours after authorities tracked their location using items that they had stolen.

Prosecutors said a member of the robbery crew who was under the age of 18 entered the AT&T store at 3701 Touhy Ave. wearing a mask shortly after 5:30 p.m., brandished a gun and told the staff and the half-dozen customers in the store to get on the ground.

Four other masked robbers entered the store. One of them put a screwdriver in the door to prop it open and they began rummaging through the customers' pockets and stealing their wallets and cell phones, according to prosecutors.

The juvenile defendant grabbed a staffer and demanded that he be let into the back room, where he was joined by a pair of co-offenders who filled up the boy's backpack with electronics, prosecutors said. The other two robbers have yet to be charged.

The five robbers fled down Interstate 94 in a Kia, which they abandoned near a CTA Blue Line station. Police were able to track them using software on the stolen phones, according to prosecutors.

"Later that same evening, the Chicago Police Department was provided with information on the location of the stolen devices from a security company that monitors trackers from the cell phone store," Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Alexandra O'Hehir said.

Police tracked the car carrying the stolen merchandise as it turned from North Avenue onto Western Avenue in Chicago before pulling it over, the prosecutor said.

In addition to phones stolen from the store, officers reported they found multiple other cellphones in their car and a loaded .40 caliber Glock pistol equipped a "switch" that allows it to fire like an automatic weapon.

"In total, officers recovered 27 stolen items, including 23 iPhones, three iPads and one Apple Watch," O'Hehir said.

Wilson, who has seven prior felony convictions, was sentenced to six years in state prison in 2018 for possession of a stolen motor vehicle and carjacking, O'Hehir said. Previous convictions include possession of stolen firearms, theft and burglary.

At the time of his arrest, he was out on bond while awaiting trial for a charge of armed habitual criminal, according to the judge. He has four children, works at Macy's and is attending school part-time, his defense attorney said.

Doss, who recently turned 18, had an extensive criminal record in juvenile court, O'Hehir told the judge. That includes a 2019 conviction for possession of a stolen motor vehicle that led to a sentence of probation, which he failed to complete satisfactorily, and three carjacking convictions since 2020 that led to juvenile detention.

The two adult defendants were ordered held without bail at their initial court appearance in Skokie. They are due back in court Nov. 30. The younger defendant has been petitioned delinquent in juvenile court.

Lincolnwood police said they received assistance with the investigation from Illinois State Police and the Chicago Police Department.