Aurora Pellet Gun Robbery: Woman And Man Charged

Edwin Alequin and Nicole Barkes have been charged with armed robbery and unlawful use of a credit card after an incident in Aurora late last month, according to a department press release. Alequin, 37, and Nicole Barkes, 29, are both from Sheridan.

Just after 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 27, Aurora Police responded to a report of an armed robbery on the 1900 block of West Galena Boulevard. The victim, a 46-year-old Aurora woman, reported that a man approached her in a parking lot and demanded money. When she refused, he produced a gun that police later determined was a pellet gun.

The victim ran while the man smashed out the window of her car and took her purse. The man fled in a SUV that police said was driven by Barkes.

Police determined that the victim's credit card was used at a gas station in Berwyn and at a department store in Forrest Park. Using store surveillance footage and video from red light cameras, police were able to track down Barnes and arrested her on Feb. 9.

U.S. Marshals tracked down Alequin at an Aurora hospital on Feb. 17. He was arrested without incident.

According to police, Alequin and Barkes pulled the robbery to support their heroin addictions.

“This case demonstrated amazing teamwork between different divisions of the police department and an unwavering commitment to putting all the pieces of a complicated case together”, Chief of Police Kristen Ziman said in the press release. “By taking these two individuals off the streets, it very well could have prevented similar crimes from occurring.”

Photo at top: Nicole Barkes, left, Edwin Alequin, right. Photo provided by Aurora Police