Four arrested in armed robbery in Dixon after police chase

DIXON – Four Chicago-area people were arrested on suspicion of armed robbery Monday after police say they held up a U.S. Cellular store at gunpoint and then fled on Interstate 88.

Dixon police responded at 5:55 p.m. to a report of armed robbery at U.S. Cellular, 166 Keul Road, where two suspects wearing masks entered the store. One drew a handgun and ordered the employees to go to the back room, police said in a news release Tuesday.

They tied up the employees and stole merchandise and cash. No one was injured.

A witness provided police with a description and license plate of the vehicle, which was spotted going eastbound on I-88 by a State Police trooper.

ISP, the Aurora and North Aurora Police departments, and the Kane County Sheriff’s Department set up a traffic stop and attempted to stop the vehicle around 7:04 p.m. at I-88 and Orchard Road in Aurora.

The suspects fled north on Orchard Road for 2 miles before losing control on the slick road and striking three other vehicles, including an ISP squad car.

Two suspects were arrested at the scene and the other two ran. Officers created a perimeter, brought in K-9 units and found them about 45 minutes later hiding underneath a tree.

Those arrested under the tree were Orlando Gates, 37, and Joshua A. Parker, 28, both of Chicago. They were charged with armed robbery, aggravated robbery and unlawful restraint; both also were charged with violating their parole.

Gates also was wanted on a Lee County failure to appear warrant for possession of a stolen vehicle and a Lake County, Indiana, warrant for larceny.

The other two arrested were Tyrone Burton, 54, of Chicago and Ashley E. Wollschlaeger, 31, of Romeoville; both were charged with armed robbery, aggravated robbery, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, and unlawful restraint.

Dixon police took custody of the four in Aurora, and they were taken to Lee County Jail. The four are scheduled to appear in Lee County Court at 1 p.m. Wednesday where bond will be set.

This isn’t the first time the store has been robbed.

David M. Kendrick of Kankakee was sentenced to 13 years in prison Jan. 4, 2018, after pleading guilty in Lee County Court to conspiracy to commit armed robbery, after he and two other men, all wearing masks, tied up employees and took cash and merchandise on Nov. 10, 2016.

Kendrick and three other men were involved in a string of cellphone store robberies in Dixon, Rock Falls and elsewhere. Eddie D. Clark, 21, and Michael Lane-Calhoun, 25, both of Kankakee were arrested about 2 weeks after the Dixon robbery, and Anthony K. Jamerson, 24, also of Kankakee, turned himself in to the Dixon Police Department a week later.