Two men have been charged in connection with a series of violent spa robberies that occurred on the single night in July and extended from Bucktown to the Evanston border.
Juan Hidalgo, 25, was charged with two counts of armed robbery in connection with the first incident, which occurred on July 17 at a Bucktown spa. Gary May Jr, 26, is also implicated in the heist, according to police and court documents, though he has not been charged. May faces charges in connection with two further robberies, one at a spa on North Milwaukee Avenue and the other on Howard Street in Evanston.
The first incident occurred around 10:50 p.m. at North Beauty Hair and Foot Spa, 1710 West North Avenue, in Bucktown, where a 48-year-old lady was cleaning the establishment while her 37-year-old friend waited for them to go to dinner.
Prosecutors said Hidalgo approached the store and pressed the buzzer, which the women initially disregarded. However, when the cleaner finally opened the door, Hidalgo allegedly began striking her in the face and torso. Three more men then rushed inside.
The robbers led the cleaner, who was bleeding from her face, to a back hallway, where they held both women against a wall before forcing them into a restroom, according to prosecutors. Hidalgo allegedly forced the maid to hand over her cellphone and almost $1,200 in cash, and the men then took the other woman’s phone. Surveillance cameras caught the heist both inside and outside the establishment.
Five days after the stop, the officer read a CPD bulletin looking for the spa thieves and recognised Hidalgo in the surveillance photographs. According to a detention petition, detectives then placed him in a photo lineup, where both victims identified him.
However, there were two other spa robberies that night, with May apparently participating in both. Shortly after the Bucktown robbery, two women were cleaning the Refresh Spa, 3413 North Milwaukee Avenue, when someone knocked on the door. According to a detention order issued by Judge Rivanda Doss Beal, as one woman replied, four men rushed inside, one grabbing her in a chokehold and the others restraining the second woman.
According to the lawsuit, all of the robbers wore masks save May. One of the ladies, aged 22, escaped to another room and shut herself inside. When she came out, she allegedly noticed May messing with the security camera system while another robber reached for her bag. She approached the burglars, and May allegedly hit her in the chest before fleeing with over $1,000 in cash and camera system parts.
The third incident occurred just after 1 a.m. at Relax Spa, 327 Howard Street. According to Evanston police, a man entered the establishment, obtained massage services, and then allowed two accomplices in through the barred front door. The group, which allegedly included May, then searched the establishment for cash and valuables.
According to authorities, one of the males grabbed an employee by the throat, forced her into a lavatory, and then used her Face ID to unlock her iPhone and access her banking app. The burglars left with roughly $1,500 in business cash, the employee’s phone, two credit cards, and approximately $600 belonging to another employee.
May has been charged with two charges of armed robbery, two counts of aggravated armed kidnapping, and two counts of aggravated unlawful restraint in connection with the Evanston crime. He is also facing charges in connection with the robbery at Refresh Spa on North Milwaukee Avenue.
Police continue to search for more suspects.
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