Burr Ridge Cop Thwarts Possible Robbery

BURR RIDGE, IL — A Burr Ridge police officer's quick thinking may have prevented an armed robbery of a gas station. While on patrol early the morning of Feb. 6, Officer Brandon Watson heard over the radio that a Woodridge gas station had just been robbed, so the officer positioned himself near the Burr Ridge Shell gas station, police said. He did this knowing of a series of recent armed robberies of gas stations in DuPage County.

Watson, whom the Burr Ridge Village Board commended this week, then witnessed a car matching the description of the suspects' vehicle drive to the back of the station with its lights off, according to a village memo. Watson notified Cpl. John Helms and then drove to the station. Seeking the officer, the suspects then sped off heading south on Route 83 in the northbound lanes, police said.

Watson pursued the suspects on Route 83 to Bluff Road. Because of heavy snowfall, Watson lost sight of the car after it turned east on Bluff, police said. He then found the car unoccupied at 94th Street and Jackson Street.

Helms took charge of the investigation, asking for help from other police departments. Watson and officers Lukas Weeks, Kyle Jarolimek and Brandon Valentino joined the search for the suspects. The suspects were captured in the woods west of Route 83 and Bluff Road, according to the memo. A weapon, drugs and stolen property were recovered from the car, police said.

Watson received a commendation from the village, while Helms, Weeks, Jarolimek and Valentino got meritorious service awards.