Man held in West Side robberies, assaults

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Updated: January 19, 2012 4:39PM

A homeless man was ordered held without bail Thursday for an alleged crime spree on the West Side that included a string of armed robberies and the sexual assault of two women.

Darrion Grossley entered three businesses on three separate dates holding a black semiautomatic handgun and wearing a black mask in the 4000 block of West Madison, assistant state’s Cook County state’s attorney Koula Fournier said.

When he went into a nail salon two days after Christmas, Grossley allegedly forced a male and two female employees to the back of the room.

There, Grossley, asked the man to ask the woman in Vietnamese to take of their clothes, Fournier said.

He then forced the women to perform oral sex on him as he held a gun to them, Fournier said.

Grossley took $2,700 from the cash register and fled, Fournier said.

On Christmas Eve, Grossley went into K-B World and took $200 from the cash register as well as $25 from the store’s security officer, prosecutors said.

Earlier this month on Jan. 5, he went to a shoe store where he swiped two employees’ cell phones and took $10 from one, Fournier said.

Grossley also took $200 from the cash register and when he saw another employee walking into the store, he hit that person with his weapon and took $100 from them, Fournier said.

He was arrested on Jan. 17 when officers recognized him as a suspect in the three robberies and others.

Surveillance cameras captured Grossley in the act in the two most recent cases and a witness in each of the incident identified him, Fournier said.

Grossley has been charged with eight counts of robbery and three counts of sexual assault.

He put his hand to his face and cried when Judge Jackie Portman ordered him held without bail.