Charges were brought against two Chicago men in connection with the armed robbery of a movie house Saturday night that began with the holdup of eight movie-house employees and ended with a police chase, police said.
It was the second time in two weeks that the Woodfield Theaters were robbed and police were investigating whether the suspects charged in Saturday’s incident were involved with the first robbery.
Charged with four counts of armed robbery were Gerry Lyons, 24, of 2249 W. 13th St., and Melvin Bone, 23, of 1338 S. Oakley Ave.
The robbery occurred shortly after 10 p.m. when Lyons asked an usher for an employment application, police said. When the usher escorted him to the office, Lyons allegedly held four employees in the office at gunpoint and took money from a safe, said Sgt. Ron Dutner of the Schaumburg Police Department.
When Bone saw an usher and three other employees running for help, he grabbed one and held a gun against his back and forced them into a closet before fleeing with Lyons in a car, Dutner said.
A police officer spotted the suspects traveling southbound on west Frontage Street near Illinois Highway 72 and began chase after he said he saw one of them throw a handgun out of the window.