Men posing as ride-share drivers robbed man leaving River North bar: prosecutors

Two felons, including a convicted murderer, posed as ride-share drivers early Saturday when they lured a man leaving a River North bar into an SUV before they robbed him at gunpoint, according to Cook County prosecutors.

Chicago Police had been tracking 45-year-old Stacey Means and 51-year-old Robert L. Archer — both charged with aggravated robbery — in connection with a string of robberies over a few months, Assistant State’s Attorney Christina Kye said Sunday at their initial court hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.

About 11 p.m. Friday, officers started following a red 2009 GMC Acadia suspected in the string of robberies, a police report shows. Inside were Means and Archer, who were driving through areas known for their nightlife and flagging down drunk people.

By about 3 a.m., Means and Archer eventually convinced a 27-year-old man leaving a bar in the 100 block of North Kinzie to get into the GMC, Kye said. In the car, Means pressed a gun into the man’s side while Archer went through his pockets and took his phone, credit and debit cards and between $150 and $250 in cash.

Still being followed by officers, Means and Archer drove to a Bank of America branch at 515 N. LaSalle, where they tried to use the man’s debit card to withdraw money, Kye said. When they weren’t able to take out any cash, they let the man out of the GMC.

Officers, suspecting the man had just been robbed, asked him what happened, Kye said. Looking “shaken up and flustered,” the man told police two men had robbed him at gunpoint. Officers tracked down the GMC three blocks away and arrested Means, who was driving the SUV, and Archer. The man identified both of them as his robbers.

When officers searched Means, they found $4,334 in various bills, including 36 $100 bills and 11 $2 bills, a police report shows. They also found a Google phone, cash and two debit and credit cards, all belonging to the man who was robbed that night.

Archer, who is married and has lived in the same Austin neighborhood apartment for the past 18 years, was denied bail on Sunday.

Means, who also lives in Austin, was also denied bail. Means had been released on parole in July 2015 after serving 18 years for a murder.

Both are scheduled to appear in court on Friday.