Old Town man charged with murdering Walgreens employee in Wicker Park

Area Five Commander Eric Winstrom, right, updates reporters on the slaying of a 18-year-old Walgreens employee on Sunday, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

An 18-year-old Old Town man tried to rob a Wicker Park Walgreens over the weekend before he fatally stabbed a store employee, police said Tuesday.

Sincere Williams faces a single count of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Olga Maria Calderon, 32. He is expected in bond court Wednesday.

Chicago Police Cmdr. Eric Winstrom said that, around 9:35 a.m. Sunday, Williams walked into the Walgreens in the 1300 block of North Milwaukee Avenue. Armed with a knife, he planned to rob the store, Winstrom said.

Olga Maria Calderon

Williams soon came across Calderon, who was stocking shelves. Williams grabbed her by the neck, Winstrom said. When Calderon tried to free herself, Williams allegedly stabbed her several times before leaving the store and tossing the knife and his clothing in a nearby yard.

“This is an unbelievably tragic incident,” CPD Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said Tuesday. “To just be at a Walgreens, working for your family, and to have somebody, an offender, come in and commit a heinous act like this and stabbing the victim to death.”

Williams was taken into custody at his home in the 1400 block of North Sedgwick Street.

Sincere Williams

Police believe Williams had committed two other recent robberies in the area. One of those was at the same store where Calderon was murdered, the other was at the Walgreens in the 2400 block of West North Avenue.

Winstrom said the suspect and weapon descriptions from the two prior robberies match Williams, though those investigations are still ongoing.

Calderon was a mother of two: an 11-year-old girl and 3-year-old boy. Her family has set up a GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses, raising more than $36,000 in a day.

Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan updates reporters on the slaying of a 18-year-old Walgreens employee on Sunday, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020.