March 29--A getaway attempt in a 2008 Ford Escape proved unsuccessful for a Chicago man and an Indiana woman charged in connection with an armed robbery of a 7-Eleven convenience store early Friday morning in West Town, prosecutors said Saturday.
Mitchell Thomas, 24, and Jamie Branch, 23, were arrested after the SUV, driven by Branch, crashed into a viaduct at 4880 W. Grand Ave., prosecutors said. Both were charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery using a deadly weapon.
Two other suspects in the robbery escaped on foot, prosecutors said.
On Saturday, Judge James R. Brown ordered Branch, of South Bend, Ind., held in lieu of $250,000 bail and Thomas, of the 1400 block of East 72nd Street, who's also facing an unrelated domestic battery charge, held in lieu of $400,000 bail. Both are due back in court Friday.
Branch was waiting outside, behind the wheel of the Escape, about 2:45 a.m. Friday when three men wearing masks and gloves entered the 7-Eleven convenience store at 504 N. Halsted St., Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Enrique Abraham said in court Saturday.
Thomas, one of the masked men, carried a handgun and "pistol-whipped" a 24-year-old cashier after demanding he open the cash register, according to Abraham and court documents. Thomas and another suspect took about $80 from the register.
Another of the three men had ventured into the back storage area of the store, wrestled a box cutter away from a 43-year-old employee and sliced the employee's finger, Abraham said.
When police arrived with guns drawn, Thomas and another suspect ran from the store and jumped into the SUV, driven by Branch, the prosecutor said. The suspect who had been in the back of the store fled and "made good ... his escape."
Branch led police on a chase but was apprehended after crashing into a viaduct. Thomas, who fled from the crash, was found soon after, Abraham said. The other suspect got away.
Once arrested, according to court records, Thomas told police: "I was just trying to feed my kids."
Late Saturday morning, employees at the 7-Eleven said they couldn't comment on the robbery and referred questions to a manager who could not be reached.
Nearby on Milwaukee Avenue at Richard's Bar, bartender Jerry Parts, 68, said the robbery was an unusual event in what's typically a safe neighborhood. Residents petitioned to close the now-defunct Funky Buddha Lounge, across the street from Richard's, after a shooting outside the club last year, Parts said.
Since then, everything's been fairly quiet, he said.
"It's what some people would call a boring neighborhood. And that's a good thing," said Parts, who grew up nearby.
Chase McDuffee, 33, sitting at the bar with a Miller Lite and a paperback copy of the novel "Jarhead," added his thoughts on the recent robbery.
"They were just driving south on Halsted looking for a 7-Eleven to rob," McDuffee said, smoking a cigarette. "It was not a real spectacularly thought-out plan."
Police are looking for the other two other men in connection with the robbery. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 312-747-8382.
