With officers keeping watch from several posts, three
In addition to allegedly catching the trio in the midst of another heist, police recovered two cell phones that were reportedly stolen from previous victims. Also collected into evidence was a .25-caliber semi-automatic handgun.
“Sooner or later, somebody was going to get shot,” Detective Sgt. Mike Keating said.
Aaron Johnson, 22, Cordaro Little, 19, and 17-year-old Larry Connic were swept up in the sting that Keating said was necessary to give area cab drivers some peace. Between Nov. 21 and their arrest on Jan. 14, the suspects robbed five taxi drivers at gunpoint while each was waiting for a fare outside the el station at 711 Desplaines Ave, police said.
Further, the group is accused of stealing a car from the gas station at
“They were really rattled and I don’t blame them,” Keating said of the village’s cab drivers. “They were scared and I figured we got to put a stop to this.”
According to police, Johnson was the ring leader of the group and was carrying the handgun when he approached the cab just moments before his arrest. He is facing more than 23 charges including five for armed robbery, four for unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of resisting arrest and one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking. The beige Oldsmobile described by victims as the alleged getaway vehicle is Johnson’s.
Little is also facing four counts of unlawful use of a weapon in addition to one count each of armed robbery, theft, resisting arrest and robbery.
Connic, the youngest of the group, is facing three counts of unlawful use of a weapon and a single charge for disobeying a police officer.
Both Johnson and Little were on parole for other felonies, according to Keating, and all three have “extensive criminal histories” that include previous arrests for armed robbery and carjacking.
“These guys were kind of a three man wrecking crew,” Keating said.
Editor’s note: For a complete story on this arrest, read the Jan. 23 issue of the Review.
