Police are seeking these two suspects in connection with pickpocketing on the Chicago Transit Authority platform at the State & Jackson subway station.

CHICAGO

Police seek Deering robbers

Chicago police are searching for five men in connection with three robberies in the city’s Deering neighborhood.

In the 9^th Police District robberies, the offenders approached the victims and demanded or took property from the individuals by force.

Police said in the most recent incident, five offenders robbed a person at 3:25 a.m. Sept. 28 on the 4700 block of South Ashland Avenue. The offenders were described as five black males.

In another incident, an individual was robbed at 9:22 a.m. Sept. 21 on the 4800 block of South Marshfield Avenue. The offenders in that incident were described as black men, 25-30 years old, 5’8” and 155 pounds.

In the other incident, an individual was robbed at 5:23 p.m. Sept. 12 on the 1800 block of West 50^th Street. The offenders in that incident were described as black men, 5’6” to 5’10” and 20-30 years old.

The three robberies follow a trio of robberies in the Deering district in May and June.

In the May and June incidents, the offenders approached victims and demanded or took property by force. In two of the incidents, an offender brandished or implied a handgun.

The robberies occurred at:

• 3:54 p.m. May 23 in the 200 block of West 27^th
• 3:45 p.m. June 4 in the 2900 block of South Wells Street.
• 11 p.m. June 10 in the 2300 block of South Archer Avenue.

The offenders in the May robbery were described as black men between 20 and 30 years of age, 5 feet 10 inches to 6-0 and 180 pounds.

In the robbery on Wells, the offender was described as a male black, 6-2 or 6-3 and 140-150 pounds.

The offender in the Archer robbery was described as a black man, 6-0 and 40-45 years of age.

Chicago police offered the following tips to avoid being a robbery victim and how to react, if robbed:

• Always be aware of your surroundings.
• Report suspicious activity immediately.
• If you are confronted by an assailant, remain calm.
• Remember any unique physical characteristics (scars, limp, acne, teeth, etc.)
• Never pursue a fleeing assailant. Provide the information to police.
• If video surveillance equipment is present, save a copy of the incident for investigating detectives.
• If approached by a witness to the incident, request contact information.
• Dial 911 immediately and remain on the scene, when possible.

Anyone with information about the robberies or the offenders should call the Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Detectives for Area Central at 312-747-8382.

Feds: Tinley Park man led Texas-to-Chicago drug pipeline

Federal law enforcement seized more than 14 kilograms of cocaine and 15 firearms as part of an investigation that dismantled a Texas-to-Chicago narcotics pipeline and resulted in charges against 10 defendants.

During the investigation, dubbed “Operation Grapevine,” authorities shut down a drug stash house in a lakefront condominium in the Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago. In addition to the cocaine and guns, law enforcement seized $215,000, and gold and diamond jewelry with an estimated value of more than $30,000.

The cocaine has a street value of $378,000.

Arrests of the defendants were recently carried out in Illinois and Texas.

Substantial assistance was provided by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Marshals Service, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, and Illinois State Police.

The probe was led by the Chicago High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, with support from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. The programs partner with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to identify, disrupt and dismantle drug-trafficking organizations.

According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Chicago, Darrin Pulphus, 50, of Tinley Park, is the leader of a drug-trafficking organization that obtained and distributed at least 23 kilograms of cocaine in the Chicago area in a three-month period earlier this year. Pulphus obtained the drugs at least twice a month from a Texas-based supplier, Curtis Pope, 40, of Houston, the complaint states. Pope allegedly transported the cocaine from Texas in a semi-trailer truck. Another Texas resident, Shawn Turner, 37, of Houston, helped facilitate the shipments, often flying from Houston to Chicago to assist Pulphus, the complaint states.

Once in the Chicago area, Pope delivered the drugs to Pulphus or other members of his crew at a truck yard in south suburban Riverdale, according to the complaint. Pulphus then allegedly worked with various distributors to sell the drugs in the Chicago area.

The complaint charges four alleged distributors: David Bowden, 51, DeShawn Walls, 34, Darrell Williams, 45, and Lawrence Johnson, 38, all of Chicago. Law enforcement seized a handgun and more than 900 grams of cocaine from Johnson after he obtained narcotics from Pulphus in April, the complaint states.

The complaint also charges two alleged wholesale customers of Pulphus’ organization: Rome Perkins, 60, and Edward Humphrey, 53, both of Chicago.

The 10th defendant, Richard Howard, 50, of Chicago, allegedly conspired with Pulphus in the distribution of cocaine.

All of the defendants have made initial appearances in federal court. Johnson and Walls remain detained in federal custody, while Pulphus, Pope, Bowden, Williams, Howard, Humphrey, Turner and Perkins were released on bond.

Man, niece indicted on kidnapping charge

An Indiana man and his Chicago niece have been indicted on federal kidnapping and domestic violence charges for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting the man’s former girlfriend.

Robert Speed and his niece, Shirley Speed, held the victim against her will from July 26-31 and repeatedly assaulted her with dangerous weapons, according to an indictment returned Oct. 2 in federal court in Chicago.

According to a criminal complaint previously filed in the case, the assaults occurred at residences in Chicago and Gary, Indiana, as well as a hotel in South Holland, during which the victim was repeatedly punched, hit with a crutch, kicked in the head and body, and choked with items such as an electrical cord. The victim, who had a previous romantic relationship with Robert Speed, was eventually released and treated in a hospital for serious injuries, according to the charges.

The indictment charges Robert Speed, 36, of Gary, and Shirley Speed, 24, with kidnapping and interstate domestic violence. Their arraignments are scheduled for 11 a.m. Oct. 10 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Cox.

Chicago police provided assistance in the investigation.

The kidnapping charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison, while the domestic violence charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Hondas taken in Grand Central area

Older model Honda cars are being stolen in the Grand Central area of Chicago.

In the 25^th Police District thefts, older model Hondas, mostly Accords, CRVs and Civics, have been taken.

The motor vehicle thefts occurred:

• Between 10 p.m. Sept. 29 and 7:45 a.m. Sept. 30 in the 4800 block of West Barry.
• Between 11:30 p.m. Sept. 29 and 8 a.m. Sept. 30 in the 5300 block of West Wellington.
• At 9 a.m. Sept. 29 in the 5700 block of West Barry.
• At 6:30 a.m. Sept. 26 in the 5200 block of West Drummond.
• Between 5:30 and 9 p.m. Sept. 6 in the 4900 block of West Altgeld.
• Between 3 and 3:45 p.m. Sept. 5 in the 5700 block of West Barry.

Police have no description of the offenders.

Chicago police offered the following tips to avoid having your vehicle stolen and how to react, if it is taken:

• Do not leave your vehicle running unattended.
• Always be aware of your surroundings.
• Report suspicious activity immediately.
• Possession of a vehicle key fob does not prevent that vehicle from being driven away.
• Never pursue a fleeing assailant. Provide the information to police.
• Dial 911 immediately and remain on the scene, when possible.

Anyone with information about the vehicle thefts or offenders should contact the Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Detectives for Area North at 312-744-8263.

Suspects sought in subway pickpocketing

Area Central detectives are seeking to identify two subjects in connecting with pickpocketing that occurred on the Chicago Transit Authority platform at the State & Jackson subway station.

The incidents occurred at 2:47 p.m. Sept. 19.

Chicago police said the suspects surrounded the victims and removed wallets from their backpacks.

One of the suspects was observed in another pickpocketing incident at 3:40 p.m. Sept. 23 at State and Washington.

One suspect is described as a heavy-set black man, wearing a dark-colored baseball hat, blue shirt with a light-colored neck tie and a navy blue sweater. The same suspect has also been seen wearing a light-colored baseball hat, plaid shirt with a neck tie and jeans. The second suspect is described as a black man wearing a dark hat, glasses, a blue polo shirt and dark jacket.

Police offered the following tips to avoid being the victim of a pickpocketing and how to react, if robbed:

• Always be aware of your surroundings.
• Dial 911 to report suspicious activity immediately.
• Never pursue a fleeing assailant. Provide the information to police.

Anyone with information about the incident or the suspects should call the Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Detectives for Area Central at 312-747-8380. Anonymous tips can be submitted at CPDTIP.com.

Chicago man recruited minors for sex acts

A Chicago man has been sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for recruiting minors on Facebook to participate in sex acts with him and others.

Bryan Osborne, 30, posed as a woman on Facebook to send thousands of messages to intended victims, most of them minors. Osborne enticed several children to agree to appear in sexually explicit films in exchange for a purported payment of thousands of dollars. He told the minors that they would first need to engage in sex acts with a male producer named “Trey,” purportedly so that Trey could make sure the minors were suitable for filming. Several of the minors agreed to the arrangement and engaged in sex acts with Trey, who turned out to be Osborne.

Osborne admitted to engaging in sex acts or attempting to engage in sex acts with 14 minors. Osborne often engaged in the sex acts with the minors inside and outside of a building in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side. He later fabricated various reasons for why the minors could not be paid.

Osborne pleaded guilty in 2017 to sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud or coercion. U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis on Sept. 30 sentenced Osborne to 22 years in prison, to be followed by 12 years of supervised release after imprisonment, and ordered him to pay restitution of $142,481 to the victims.

Members of FBI Chicago’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force assisted in the investigation.

According to evidence in the case, Osborne used various online personas to target children. Osborne told some of the minors that they could be paid larger sums if they referred even younger children to him for participation in the purported films, including victims under the age of 12.

Anyone believing he or she is the victim of sexual exploitation is encouraged to call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678, or log on to www.missingkids.com. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.