Four juveniles -- one only 10 years old -- were arrested Thursday after police caught them committing two separate strong-arm robberies on the CTA Green Line, officials said today. Police had issued community alerts earlier about a string of robberies that occurred on the Green Line. After reviewing video surveillance, detectives from the 13th and 11th districts decided to stake out certain locations on the Green Line to catch the culprits, police said.
Shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday, Wood District officers saw three juveniles fleeing a CTA platform, police said. The youths -- ages 10, 13 and 14 -- had just robbed a victim for his mobile phone.
The victim was seated on the train when one of the youths snatched the phone from his hands. After a brief foot chase, the youths were caught and identified by the victim, police said.
Later that evening, Harrison District officers caught a teen who robbed a female victim of her cell phone.
About 6:40 p.m. Thursday, the victim alerted police that her phone had been taken. Soon after, a 15-year-old boy ran down the stairs, right into the police officers. He was taken into custody and the victim was given back her phone, police said.
All four youths were charged as juveniles with strong-armed robbery. The youths were not named because they were charged as juveniles.
Previous Green Line robberies were still under investigation.
