Brothers Turn Armed Robbery Into Hot Pursuit: Police

An armed robbery Sunday night in a restaurant parking lot turned into a car chase—and a subsequent car crash—when the victims took off after the alleged offender, according to police.

Tinley Park police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding three brothers from Tinley Park and Oak Lawn who were robbed Sunday, Dec. 15, when a man brandishing a "silver automatic handgun" accosted them in the parking lot of Portillo's Hot Dogs on Harlem Avenue, said Chief Steve Neubauer. The brothers were talking to one another in the lot when a man came up to them and demanded their money and cell phones, Neubauer added.

READ: Vandals Target Reindeer Christmas Decorations

After the brothers handed over their valuables, the offender sped away in a brown Lincoln driven by another man, Neubauer said.

But the drama didn't end there. The brothers decided to pursue the Lincoln, eventually striking that car, Neubauer said. Both vehicles went over the median, and the brothers' car came to a rest on the curb at 167th Street and Harlem Avenue. The Lincoln, however, drove away.

No one was injured during the robbery or in the car crash, Neubauer said.

Police have descriptions of the two individuals involved with the robbery:

• Alleged armed robber: A black man, 30 to 35 years old, about 250 pounds, wearing a gray hoodie.
• Alleged driver: A light-complected black man, 30 to 35 years old, about 200 pounds, , wearing a green hoodie.