Two Arrested In Weekend Cell Phone Robberies In Tinley Park

TINLEY PARK, IL —Two juveniles have been arrested in connection with a pair of cell phone robberies that happened over the weekend.

No further information is available about the juveniles who are being held because the information is protected under Illinois law. However, Tinley Park Sergeant Patrick St. John said detectives are reviewing the cases with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

"This is a new approach we're taking to be transparent and to follow up on crimes that have bene reported," St. John said. "So many times people read about the crimes and then don't see anything after that."

Updates will be posted on the village's public safety Facebook page.

In the first incident, 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 SUV hit the brakes near them and someone from inside yelled "hurry up!" The suspects then jumped into the SUV and it sped away. No one was injured.

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. He was not injured.

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