Teens arrested after Midlothian standoff
By Susan DeMar Lafferty slafferty@southtownstar.com February 13, 2013 10:12AM
There was an overnight standoff with burglars at this ABC Wireless Store at 3328 147th Street in Midlothian, IL seen on Wednesday February 13, 2013. | Matt Marton~Sun-Times Media
Updated: March 15, 2013 1:21PM
Two Robbins teenagers, ages 14 and 17, are expected to be charged with burglary after they broke into a Midlothian cell phone store Tuesday night and engaged police in a lengthy standoff before surrendering, police said.
They were arrested inside the store about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, after police waited five hours for them to surrender, Deputy Police Chief Steve Zamiar said.
Police were alerted at 9:15 p.m. to a burglary in progress at ABC Wireless, 3328 W. 147th St., and saw one of the teens climbing into the closed store through a broken window. As officers approached the store, they observed that one of the burglars had a gun, Zamiar said.
He said the South Suburban Emergency Response Team was called in, set up a perimeter around the store, and numerous attempts were made to try to contact the two inside the store by phone, but the teens refused to speak to officers.
Police also used a bullhorn and called the teens’ parents after being able to identify the boys, Zamiar said.
“We knew (the two) were scared, and if we rushed in, there was a greater chance that something bad would happen,” he said.
Finally, the emergency response team entered the store, and the teens offered no resistance, he said.
“We’re very happy with the way it turned out,” Zamiar said.
