Bail denied for parolee charged with armed robberies on Near West Side

A man on parole was denied bail Saturday after being charged with a series of robberies on the Near West Side.

Deangelo Suggs, 28, faces charges of armed robbery, aggravated criminal sexual abuse and attempted vehicular hijacking, according Cook County prosecutors, who said Suggs was on parole at the time of the offenses.

The first robbery Suggs was charged with occurred March 1 when he robbed a 62-year-old woman at gunpoint and sexually abused her, prosecutors said.

At 1:33 a.m. that day, Suggs pulled the woman’s car door open after she parked in the 200 block of South Bell, held a gun to her head and demanded the woman’s property as he started counting backwards, according to prosecutors.

The woman handed over about $200 in cash, at which point Suggs demanded her car keys and cellphone, prosecutors said. He then touched the gun to her thigh and put his hand under her dress.

A week later, Suggs allegedly stole $26 in cash when he brandished a handgun and robbed a 58-year-old man in the 600 block of South Hoyne, prosecutors said. Suggs was also armed with a handgun when he robbed a couple of their cellphones on March 21 in a parking lot in the 1000 block of West Van Buren, prosecutors said.

Six days later, he allegedly robbed another woman in another parking lot.

In that case, which led to Suggs’ arrest, the 25-year-old had parked in the 1100 block of West Harrison and was walking away from her car when she saw Suggs approach her with a gun, prosecutors said. The woman gave him $30 and her cellphone.

Officers identified Suggs through surveillance footage that showed him enter a nearby CTA Blue Line station on Racine and then tracked him to an apartment complex in the 2300 block of West Jackson, prosecutors said. He was taken into custody Friday and allegedly admitted to all five robberies.

Suggs, of the Near West Side neighborhood, has five prior felony convictions, prosecutors said. He was released on parole in December after being convicted of burglary in 2016, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Judge Sophia Atcherson denied Suggs bail during his hearing Saturday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, noting his previous convictions and that he was on parole at the time of the robberies in her decision.

His next court date was set for Monday.