Robbery At Family Dollar On Larkin: 3 Arrested After Wild Chase

JOLIET, IL — Three Joliet men between the ages of 32 and 60 are now in the Will County Jail following a tobacco cabinet robbery inside the Family Dollar store on Joliet's Larkin Avenue.

Thursday's crime happened around 1:20 p.m., and the three suspects were later captured on Joliet's east side. One of the robbers, 40-year-old Charles Gittens, tried to hide by jumping into a creek, according to police spokesman Dwayne English.

Gittens is now jailed on charges of aggravated fleeing and eluding a peace officer and driving with a revoked license. Kendale Coleman, 32, was charged with aggravated robbery and possession of controlled substances. Thomas Spurgeon, 60, is charged with possession of controlled substances.

According to English, this is how the Family Dollar robbery unfolded Thursday:

Coleman, who lives in the 500 block of Third Avenue, entered Family Dollar, walked behind the counter and began taking various cartons of cigarettes from a tobacco cabinet.

When a store employee told Coleman to stop, he implied he had a gun, but did not display one, according to police.

Coleman fled the store with numerous cartons of cigarettes, and Gittens was his getaway driver, English said.

Several minutes later, Joliet police said they spotted Gittens' pickup truck near Washington Street and Miller Street. Gittens and Coleman tried running from the truck when police tried to pull them over, police said.

According to authorities, Gittens jumped into a nearby creek, and officers eventually caught up to him and placed him into custody.

Coleman was found hiding under a porch of a house near Washington Street and Iowa Street, English said. When Spurgeon was captured, he had cocaine in his possession and so did Coleman, according to police.

Gittens was taken to St. Joe's hospital for a minor injury he suffered while fleeing police. He was released a short time later and taken to the Joliet Police Department.