6-Inch Kitchen Knife Used In Armed Robbery Of Skokie 7-Eleven, Prosecutors Say

SKOKIE, IL — An Evanston man charged with the knifepoint armed robbery of a convenience store in Skokie was ordered held without bail Thursday.

Jonathan Mack, 22, of the 1800 block of Hovland Court, was charged with armed robbery in connection with a incident Thursday at the 7-Eleven, 4834 Church St., according to police and prosecutors.

Around 2 p.m., Mack walked into the store and hung around for about 10 minutes without buying anything. After walking outside for a moment, he returned and came behind the counter next to the clerk, according to Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Nic Attia.

"I give you five seconds to open the cash register," Mack allegedly told the clerk, Attia said Thursday at Mack's initial court appearance in Skokie.

When the 7-Eleven employee said he was unable to open the register, Mack pushed him and grabbed him by the neck as he pulled a 6-inch kitchen knife from his pocket, Attia said.

Mack ended up grabbing a 20-pack of cigarettes and cash worth about $812 combined, according to the prosecutor.

One of the store managers managed to call 911 while running to the office, and Skokie police arrived to find Mack running out the back door of the store, Attia said.

As they gave chase, they saw Mack "bend down and push the knife in the dirt while running," and he would periodically drop stolen cash or cigarettes as he fled. He was eventually taken into custody in the 9300 block of Laverge Avenue.

According to Skokie police, Mack "complained of shortness of breath" after being taken into custody, but he refused further treatment when Skokie Fire Department personnel arrived.

Mack is a former Nordstrom employee who has been recently living in hotels, according to his court-appointed attorney.

At the time of his arrest, he also had an arrest warrant stemming from a charge of reckless driving that has been active since 2021, according to court officials.

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Cook County Associate Judge Anthony Calabrese granted the prosecution's request to have Mack jailed while awaiting trial.

He said there was good reason for store clerk, who positively identified Mack as the man who robbed him at knifepoint, to remember Mack, as well as other witnesses and physical evidence that supported the charges.

Calabrese also noted the outstanding arrest warrant indicated there was some risk Mack would decline to show up to court.

"But it is rather the bold and dangerous nature of the crime committed in broad daylight, as suggested in the state's petition, and the nature of the attack on the 67-year-old victim, and the dangerous nature of the allegations, as well as flight from the police when the police attempted to apprehend him, " Calabrese said. "Those are all concerns regarding the safety of the community as well."