Two Chicago men charged with robbing high-end Aurora watch store of nearly $125K
SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE June 22, 2012 5:04PM
Michael Pitchford / photo from Aurora police
Updated: June 22, 2012 5:16PM
Two Chicago have been charged with stealing almost $125,000 in cash and watches at gunpoint from a high-end west suburban store Thursday afternoon.
Kevin Jones, 34, and Michael Pitchford, 21, were charged with one count each of aggravated robbery, robbery and possession of a stolen vehicle, according to Aurora police.
They are accused of robbing the TAG Heuer watch store in the 1600 block of Premium Outlets Boulevard about 12:20 p.m. Thursday, police said.
The men entered the store and Jones engaged a 28-year-old clerk in a conversation, then pulled a handgun and ordered him to put watches from a display case into a plastic bag, police said.
Pitchford forced another 22-year-old employee into a back room, where the store manager, a 45-year-old woman, was sitting, police said. Pitchford ordered her to empty the cash register, which she died, and the men fled in a 1995 Buick Century.
Illinois State Police spotted the vehicle just before 1 p.m. on the Eisenhower Expressway and pulled it over, police said. The men were captured after a short foot chase.
Police recovered $123,000 worth of watches and $366 in cash from the Buick, which had been reported stolen in Chicago.
