Attempted bike theft on CTA blue line of bike messenger

5 arrested, 2 in women's clothing, after trying to steal bike on Blue Line


  (Tribune illustration)
MAPS
Lower Wacker Drive & West Van Buren Street, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
North Wabash Avenue & East Washington Street, Chicago, IL 60602, USA
By Carlos Sadovi
Tribune reporter
8:45 a.m. CDT, August 12, 2013

Five people are in custody this morning, including two males possibly dressed in wigs and mini-skirts, after they tried to rob a bicycle and a messenger bag while on the Blue Line train.

The incident began at about 6:15 a.m. as the bicycle messenger was on the train with his bicycle and bag when the group approached him on the train as the train was at about the 400 block of South Clinton Street, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli.

After the group approached the messenger they tried to yank the bike away from him but he resisted, Mirabelli said. Instead, members of the group took the man's messenger bag, Mirabelli said.

After taking the bag, the group ran off the train at the Van Buren and Wacker Drive stop with the bicycle messenger chasing after them, police said.

While the messenger was chasing after the group, someone else had called 911 to report the incident and a police vehicle from the Central Police District was dispatched to the area, Mirabelli said.

The messenger waved down the police officer and alerted the officer to several members of the group, Mirabelli said. The officer managed to arrest three of the people in the group near Van Buren and Wacker Drive and put them in handcuffs, Mirabelli said.

At that point the same officer managed to find the remaining two members of the group and arrested them at Washington Street and Wabash Avenue, Mirabelli said.

Of the group, four members are male and one is female, Mirabelli said. Two of the males in the group were wearing women's clothing, said Mirabelli. Preliminary information indicated that at least two of the males were wearing pink wigs and mini-skirts. Their ages were not immediately available.

Mirabelli credited the Central District officer for managing to arrest the group of suspects.

"It was a one person (police) car, it was great work," Mirabelli said. "These individuals were aggressive and dangerous."

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