SYCAMORE – One of the men thought to have barricaded himself in St. Albans Green apartments for nearly 18 hours this weekend was arrested by Sycamore police Sunday in connection to an armed robbery in Hampshire, though the second person remains at large, said Sycamore Police Chief Jim Winters.
Winters said the man, who police haven’t yet identified, was arrested around noon Sunday after jumping from the second-floor balcony of St. Albans Building B, where Winters said police believe he may have been hiding inside the walls after a thorough hours-long search was unsuccessful.
It’s unclear whether the second person still at large is armed, said Winters, since the gun police believe was used in the armed robbery Saturday was found by Sycamore police during the arrest Sunday.
“We believe he was hiding somewhere in the building, possibly in the infrastructure of the buildings,” Winters said. When asked whether he meant the walls of the apartment complex, Winters said “Possibly. He was not in plain view.”
As of 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Winters said a second arrest has not yet been made, but Sycamore police remain on the scene at St. Albans to protect residents. He said the countywide special operations team — which includes police from Sycamore, DeKalb, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office and Northern Illinois University — remained searching until about 5 a.m., after police cleared the initial parameter Sunday around 12:40 a.m.
Winters said police even searched the attic of St. Albans Green Building B with a drone, and did not find anyone hiding.
“After not locating either person that was wanted in this Hampshire case, we did leave officers on scene,” Winters said. “We did another search, searched the second floor again. And about noon today, one of the suspects was seen fleeing that residence. He had jumped off a balcony and then fled, got into a car which was stopped on Somonauk Street.”
Two others in the car — a woman and a person under 18 — were also arrested, and Winters said a gun was found in the car.
“The gun that was recovered we believe was the same gun in the Hampshire armed robbery yesterday sometime in the afternoon,” he said.
Winters said the man did not report any injuries after jumping from the second floor, and while his armed robbery charges (and identity) will be released by Hampshire police, it’s likely he’ll face additional charges of residential burglary and criminal trespass to a residence from Sycamore.
As far as the second man wanted in connection to the Hampshire armed robbery, Winters said police continued searching St. Albans Sunday, and they’ll keep officers on the scene in case he’s found.
“We’re keeping officers there just as a precaution,” Winters said. “But as always, if someone saw something that was out of place or something suspicious, we encourage them to call us.”
The Sycamore Police Department can be reached at 815-895-2123, though 911 should be called in the event of an emergency.
Manhunt continues for second suspect
The two men were the center of an hours-long, multi-department manhunt Saturday night that continued into the early morning hours Sunday, Sycamore police officials said.
Around 6 p.m. Saturday, Sycamore police were notified by Hampshire police that two men wanted in connection to an armed robbery of a Super 8 Motel in Hampshire were headed their way in a red car.
“We ended up finding the suspect vehicle on the east side of town,” said Sycamore Police Deputy Chief Steve Cook said, at the Sycamore Parkway Restaurant, 605 E. State St.
The two men, who matched the description of those wanted in connection to the armed robbery, were then seen entering St. Albans Green apartment complex, 711 S. Main St., around 6 p.m. and were not seen coming back out.
“The report out of Hampshire was that they were armed,” Cook said.
At that time Saturday, multiple DeKalb County law enforcement agencies set up a parameter around the two-story Building B (adjacent to the St. Albans Green site that burned to the ground after an apartment fire in July of 2019), and closed Locust Street at South Main Street, which was also closed in the 700 block.
Crews from the Sycamore and DeKalb fire departments also assisted, Winters said, especially as night fell and extra lights were needed to search the entire building.
As part of the hours-long investigation, police escorted residents out of the building, and nearly seven hours later, around 12:40 a.m., Cook said the streets had reopened and residents were being allowed back inside since the search at that time was unsuccessful.
The public is urged to remain vigilant, and encouraged to contact the Sycamore Police Department with any relevant information.
This story has been updated to convey that the gun police believed was used in the armed robbery in Hampshire was recovered during the arrest made Sunday, said Chief Jim Winters, and it’s not clear whether the second person still at large is armed at this time.
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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