Man robbed 3 victims at gunpoint during Facebook Marketplace meetup: prosecutors

7 months ago 81
Calvin Savage (Chicago Police Department)

CHICAGO — A South Side man is accused of working with accomplices to lure three people into a robbery trap through an advertisement on Facebook Marketplace.

Prosecutors said a man arranged to buy a Yamaha motorcycle from a Facebook account named “Larry West” and arranged to complete the transaction in the 6700 block of South Indiana on June 28.

The man and two friends went to the 6700 block of South Indiana to meet “Larry West,” but they were met by a young boy who claimed to be his son, according to a CPD report. The boy led all three men to the back of a house, saying that’s where the motorcycle was located.

As soon as they reached the backyard, three men confronted the group, including 18-year-old Calvin Savage, prosecutors said. Savage allegedly pointed a gun at the victims and demanded their property. He got the first victim’s wallet, which contained $2,500 cash the victim brought to buy the motorcycle, officials said.

The crew tried to take money from one of the other men, but he left his wallet in the car. Finally, the boy who led the victims to the yard poked the third victim with a knife and took about $230 from that man’s pockets, prosecutors said.

Police tracked one of the victim’s phones to Savage’s home address and determined that the device was inside the residence when it was turned off, according to CPD records. Cops surrounded the home, secured a search warrant, and entered the residence about five hours after the crime.

Savage, who was inside the home, told police that he had been at the gym running on a treadmill from noon until 2 p.m. that afternoon, making it impossible for him to be involved in the robbery, the CPD report said.

When he was told that two of the victims had identified him as one of the robbers, Savage allegedly asked how they could identify him since the robber was wearing a mask, the report said.

Asked how he knew the robber wore a mask, Savage allegedly replied that his mother had told him.

During a detention hearing, prosecutors told Judge Caroline Glennon-Goodman that Savage had a “recent juvenile adjudication for a violent offense,” but court records do not list the exact charge. He is charged with three counts of robbery in connection with the Facebook meetup.

Judge Glennon-Goodman declined the state’s detention request and released Savage with a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew.

On May 29, Chicago police detectives issued a community alert about identical robberies that occurred on the same block of Indiana Avenue and nearby streets this spring. Savage has not been charged with any of those crimes, and CPD has not announced any arrests in the earlier cases.

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