Serial Gas Station Robbers Nabbed in Traffic Stop: Cops

OAK LAWN, IL -- A man and woman believed to have robbed convenience stores and gas stations in Skokie and Oak Lawn were nabbed in a traffic stop in Hometown, prosecutors said. Jamarra White, 21, of Tulsa, OK, and 29-year-old Chicagoan Derrick Crayton, both appeared separately before Cook County Judge Peter Felice on Class X felony charges of armed robbery with a firearm. White has also been charged with aggravated unlawful use of a firearm.

The first robbery happened during the overnight hours of Aug. 6 at the Thornton’s gas station at 91st Street and Cicero Avenue in Oak Lawn. An employee was working the third shift when the two suspects, later identified as Crayton and White, entered the store around 1:45 a.m. with scarves covering their faces, the prosecutor said. Crayton allegedly brandished a pistol and jumped over the counter. Crayton ordered a the employee to open the register, while White stuffed a red laundry bag with various brands of cigarettes, the prosecutor said. Crayton directed the employee to open a second register. When the employee couldn’t get the second register open, the prosecutor said Crayton hit the employee in the back of the head with the gun. (SUBSCRIBE: Get Real-Time Alerts and a Daily Newsletter for Oak Lawn.)

On Aug. 13, White and another male accomplice allegedly held up a 7-Eleven store at 7950 N. Crawford Ave. in Skokie. According to the charges, the employee was working in the backroom when the male suspect entered with a scarf over his face. The male suspect snapped a gold necklace off the employee’s neck, then smacked him in the head with the gun, the prosecutor said. White allegedly stuffed Newport cigarettes into a black bag, while the male suspect handed other cigarette brands to her. The employee suffered head pain. Crayton has not been charged in the Skokie robbery, but the prosecutor said that more charges may be forthcoming.

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The pair returned to Oak Lawn on Aug. 20, when the two are alleged to have robbed the Shell station located at 106th Street and Cicero Avenue. A woman who witnessed the purported robbery was buying gas around 1:43 a.m. when she saw Crayton and White entering the gas station with their faces concealed behind scarves, the prosecutor said. Crayton allegedly waved a pistol and ordered an employee to get down on the floor. According to the charges, Crayton directed the second employee to open the cash register and hand him the money. The prosecutor said White stuffed a red laundry bag with menthol cigarettes. Crayton told the employee to point him to the rest of the cartons, but the employee misunderstood and led Crayton to the front of the store where the gift cards were located, the prosecutor said. Crayton reportedly became agitated. The two allegedly grabbed more menthol cigarettes and fled the store.

The next day, Aug. 21, the pair were pulled over in Hometown for a traffic stop, the prosecutor said. Officers found a 9mm Taurus handgun in the car. White allegedly admitted that the gun was her’s. White and Crayton were arrested and brought to the Oak Lawn police station.

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White has no criminal background, but does have an arrest warrant out of Indiana for kidnapping. Crayton has a lengthy criminal background, including a credit card larceny charge from this year in Virginia, a 2012 conviction for armed robbery to which he was sentenced to eight years in prison, resisting arrest and street gang contact, the prosecutor said. Both defendants appeared separately for their respective bond hearings “for the safety of the courtroom,” the deputy sheriff said.

“There’s no question in my mind that both of them are a danger to the community,” Felice said, ordering them both to be held without bond on the robbery charges.

White was also given a $100,000 on the gun charge. If convicted of the robbery charges, both face mandatory minimum sentences of six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. White and Crayton are both due back in court Sept. 18. The state of Indiana is also seeking extradition for White on the kidnapping charge.