Man charged with Heart of Chicago armed robberies denied bail

A Heart of Chicago man charged with robbing or attempting to rob three businesses in his neighborhood in recent months was denied bail Monday.

Andrew Allen, 40, is facing felony counts of armed robbery with a firearm, attempted armed robbery with a firearm and aggravated armed robbery/indicating a firearm, according to Chicago Police and Cook County prosecutors.

Allen appeared in court Monday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse and was denied bail by Judge Micheal Clancy.

On Dec. 31, 2017, Allen walked into a Family Dollar at 2118 W. Cermak, showed a gun to the 20-year-old clerk at the register and demanded money, prosecutors said. He ran off after taking an unspecified amount of cash.

On Jan. 10, Allen entered Pizza Nova, 1842 W. 18th St., with a gun and demanded money, authorities said. A 27-year-old woman at the register screamed for help and Allen ran away.

On Feb. 26, Allen returned to the same Family Dollar he robbed earlier and implied he had a gun in his shirt, authorities said. He took about $175 from a 27-year-old man working at the register and ran off.

All three incidents were captured by video surveillance and Allen was identified by a witness in a photo lineup.

Allen also admitted to the robberies during an interview with Chicago Police detectives after he was arrested on Sunday, prosecutors said.

He was scheduled to return to court March 12.