Machete-Armed Robberies on the Northwest Side

The individual who, armed with a machete, has been robbing people in neighborhoods on the Northwest Side of Chicago has been apprehended according to multiple media reports. From David Struett in thne Sun-Times:

A man with half a dozen robbery convictions on his record armed himself with a machete last week and went on a “crime spree, wreaking havoc” across the Northwest Side, Cook County prosecutors said in court Wednesday.

“To say that these are violent offenses is actually an understatement —a machete is a vicious, dangerous weapon,” Judge Mary Marubio told Andre Gonzalez, who is charged with robbing four people since last Friday and suspected in seven other attacks.

Three of the victims identified Gonzalez, 35, in photo arrays, prosecutors said.

Pro tip: if you’re going to engage in a crime spree don’t tattoo your name on your face. The perpetrator’s image was captured on a surveillance camera and he was prominently tattooed, including a tattoo of his name on his face. If you must tattoo a name on your face, I suggest someone else’s name. Possibilities: “Lori”, “Toni”, “Kim”.

At ABC 7 Chicago by Karen Jordan and Stephanie Wade:

Police said he was taken into custody during a traffic stop near his home in the 10000-block of South Avenue C, Brown said, adding that he would allegedly drive to the other side of the city to commit these crimes.

He appeared in court Wednesday and ordered held without bond. Investigators say Gonzalez would approach victims and threaten them with a machete before taking their belongings. The assistant state’s attorney said in the bond hearing that in one case Gonzalez robbed a woman of her purse and later dumped it after taking cash and credit cards.

“Records show that some of the victim’s credit cards were utilized four times after this incident,” Cook County ASA Sean Kelly said.

A father of four, Gonzalez has five previous felony convictions and possibly faces more armed robbery charges.

Some of his previous crimes were committed with firearms.

The map at the top of this post pinpoints where the robberies took place.

The perpetrator is rather obviously a violent habitual criminal. In earlier less enlightened times if he hadn’t been executed he would be permanently in prison. After his long list of crimes I honestly have no idea how he was out on his own at the tender age of 35.

At the federal level the rate of recidivism is quite high—around 60%. I see no mention of substance abuse in any of the published reports but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were not involved. I’m honestly not sure what should become of individuals like this. I certainly don’t see how light sentences for violent repeat offenders deters anybody from anything.