Fingerprint On Katrina Donation Jar Leads To 3 Arrests
Trio Suspected In Dozens Of Convenience Store Robberies
POSTED: 1:32 pm CDT September 27,
2005
UPDATED: 2:28 pm CDT September 27,
2005
CHICAGO -- A fingerprint left on a jar that contained money donated to hurricane victims helped authorities track down three people suspected of carrying out as many as 30 recent armed robberies.
Suspected Thieves Nabbed By Donation Jar Fingerprint
Store owner, Abunaser Zidullah, told police he saw two men take money from two plastic jars he was using to collect money for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts during a robbery on Sept. 8.The fingerprint that led to the arrests came from Lincoln Foods, 2306 N. Lincoln Ave. Investigators found a fingerprint on one of those jars, leading them to Darryl Cates, who was charged Monday with 15 counts of armed robbery, police said. Cates, 47, Leonard Askew, 35, and Bonita Wright, 39, are suspected of robberies at several convenience stores and other small businesses on the city's North Side. Askew and Wright also have been charged with armed robbery. All three were in Cook County jail Tuesday.Belmont Area Lt. William Dunn said Askew was the group's ringleader. The Cook County circuit court clerk's office said court records showed no attorneys on file for the defendants. Zidullah estimated that $1,200 was taken from his cash register and $200 to $300 was stolen from the jars.After being spotted and arrested on Thursday, police said Askew confessed to everything. "He said he was tired of everything, tired of being on the run. He knew the police were after him," Dunn said. The robberies were believed to have started in August, but police said Askew implicated himself in robberies that stem back to July.City News Service contributed to this report.
Copyright 2005 by NBC5.com The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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