Sun-Times file
A one-man crime spree that began as a sexual assault in the common area of a Near South Side apartment building continued with several armed robberies, kidnappings and a stabbing, all before ending with the suspect dying in a car crash in Bridgeport early Friday on the South Side.
The suspect, who has not been identified, is a man in his 20s, who was ejected from a vehicle when it crashed and flipped over shortly after 3 a.m. in the 3000 block of South Pitney Court, according to Chicago Fire department spokesman Larry Merritt.
Two women he held captive in the car were injured in the crash and taken to Stroger Hospital, said Merritt. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening.
The spree began about 2:45 a.m. when the suspect entered the common area of an apartment building in the 1500 block of South Wabash Avenue on the Near South Side, where he approached a 48-year-old woman, pulled a knife on her and sexually assaulted her, Chicago police said.
He then confronted two 27-year-old women and forced all three women into one of the building’s apartments, where he held them at knifepoint and robbed them, police said.
At that point, a 27-year-old man entered the apartment and the suspect also held him at knifepoint and robbed him.
The 48-year-old woman was able to escape and was taken by ambulance to Rush University Medical Center, where she was in fair condition, according to Merritt and police.
The suspect then forced the three 27-year-olds into one of their cars, police said. They drove to a restaurant in the 700 block of West 31st Street in Bridgeport, and the suspect forced the man out of the car and into a restaurant, where he cut and robbed a 36-year-old staffer, taking cash from his register, according to police.
The man stayed at the restaurant while the suspect got back in the car and drove away with the women still in the car. After smashing into a police car, he kept driving and then crashed at the Pitney Court address.
After plowing into a police car, he kept driving and then crashed in the 3000 block of South Pitney Court a few minutes later.
Detectives are still investigating.
