Chicago Man Arrested For Tropical Smoothie Café Robbery: Tinley PD

TINLEY PARK, IL — A Chicago man was charged this week in connection with a robbery at Tropical Smoothie Café in November 2025.

Samuel Shabaz, 62, of Chicago, was charged Wednesday with felony aggravated robbery after the Nov. 6 incident, police said Thursday.

Tinley Park police were called to the business at 6:53 p.m. Nov. 6 for a report of a robbery. Witnesses provided officers with a detailed physical description of the offender, who they said had implied he had a handgun and stole $300 before driving away in a black 2004 Toyota Camry.

Police used surveillance and license plate reader (LPR) technology to help identify the vehicle used in the robbery, which was determined to be stolen from Schererville, Ind., officials said Thursday. Police were able to recover the stolen vehicle and process it for evidence. Items recovered inside the vehicle helped to identify Shabaz as the suspect, police said.

During the investigation, detectives learned that the Countryside Police Department had contact with Shabaz four days after the Tropical Smoothie Café robbery during a disturbance call. Tinley Park investigators shared still images from the robbery with Countryside police, who positively identified the man in the images as Shabaz. Shabaz was wearing the same clothing during his contact with Countryside police as he was during the robbery, police said.

Evidence that police obtained during the investigation placed Shabaz in the area of the Tropical Smoothie Café at the time of the robbery. Investigators showed photo arrays to the victims, who positively identified Shabaz as the suspect. Investigators also learned that Shabaz had an extensive criminal history and was convicted and incarcerated for an armed robbery in the past, police said.

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved an arrest warrant for felony aggravated robbery, and Shabaz turned himself in on Jan. 14 at the Tinley Park Police Department.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Jan. 15 at the Bridgeview Courthouse.