Tinley's Weekend Cell Phone Robberies May Be Related: Police

TINLEY PARK, IL — Tinley Park police are investigating a pair of cell phone robberies that happened over the weekend involving teenagers who were walking on the village's streets.

Police are not sure the two incidents are related, but are they looking into connections in both cases, said Police Chief Matthew Walsh.

In the first, two juveniles were walking Friday at about 8 p.m. near 167th Street and 66th Avenue when two men approached them brandishing pocket knives and demanding their cell phones and passcodes.

The youths reported that a speeding, light-colored SUV hit the brakes near them and someone from inside yelled "hurry up!" The suspects then jumped into the SUV and it sped away.

In the second incident, a teenager was walking near 167th Street and Oak Park Avenue between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sunday when two men approached him from behind and demanded his cell phone and passcode. He was looking at his phone while he was walking, and was not aware of the men approaching him, Walsh said. He did not report seeing a weapon.

Walsh said that it's a good idea for people who are walking on the street to put their phones away. "Please be aware of your surroundings and quit looking at your phone," he said. "It’s shame, but it is what it is."

The suspects in both incidents are described as African-American men who are ages 16 to 20.

Walsh added that police are reviewing video from cameras located near the areas where the incidents happened. An investigation is ongoing.