Crime & Safety

Nearby Officers Help Vernon Hills Police Catch Armed Robbery Suspects

Details are emerging about an incident that shut the doors at area schools and involved the US Marshall.

The Vernon Hills Police Department issued a news release stating that five suspects were arrested for armed robbery this morning in an incident that resulted in closed campuses at Stevenson High School and Hawthorn District 73.

According to the release, the Vernon Hills Police Department, with assistance from the U.S. Marshall Service, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, and surrounding police agencies interrupted an armed robbery in progress at La Tienda Del Pueblo grocery store, 115 E. Townline Rd., in Vernon Plaza.

According to Officer Sharon Joseph of the Vernon Hills Police Department, the department was assisting the U.S. Marshall Service on a surveillance of the group, at the time the suspects became involved in the armed robbery.

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Three suspects were arrested at the scene and two more were apprehended within 90 minutes of the incident.

According to the news release, the store owner just opened the store when three suspects entered. One suspect forced the store owner to the floor with a gun, while the other two suspects checked the register at the front of the store.

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When the store owner’s wife entered the back door, the suspect with the gun told her to get to the floor. Police arrived and three suspects ran out the back door.

One suspect was apprehended and two ran into the nearby neighborhood. Two other suspects were located in a vehicle in the parking lot.

According to the news release, local schools were put on lockdown as a precautionary measure. Law enforcement officers from nearby jurisdictions searched the area on foot and apprehended the final two suspects about an hour later.

Vernon Hills Police said more information would be released when it becomes available.


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