Sept. 23--An employee of a gas station in Elmhurst and her boyfriend have been accused of staging a robbery of the business and making it look like an abduction, police said Wednesday morning.
According to a news release from the Elmhurst Police Department, Simone Boyd, 21, of Lombard, and Brandon Morris, 21, were charged with felony theft. DuPage County court records indicate Morris also was charged with attempted robbery.
At a court hearing Wednesday morning, bail was set at $100,000 for Boyd and $200,000 for Morris. Elmhurst police said Morris lives in Melrose Park. Court records showed a Broadview address.
Police said that Boyd was an overnight employee at the Shell gas station at 654 W. North Ave., early Tuesday morning when Morris arrived, jumped over the counter and took money from the cash register. The incident was captured on store video. The video also showed Morris and Boyd leaving the store together, "leading police to believe that the incident was a robbery/abduction," according to the news release.
Police said officers were called to the station at about 5 a.m. for a well-being check on Boyd. The clerk was not at the station when police arrived.
Morris and Boyd were both located in Cook County and the proceeds taken from the gas station were recovered, police said.
Morris and Boyd are scheduled to appear in court again on Oct. 19.
Freelance reporter Clifford Ward contributed.
