Wicker Park Great Clips Stylist Helped Catch Bandit, Police Say

The Cook County State's Attorney's Office approved 11 counts of armed robbery against an Evanston man today.

The announcement was made at the Skokie Police Department at 10:30 a.m.

Jason Logsdon, 41, of the 900 block of Chicago Avenue in Evanston, was charged with 11 counts of armed robbery, all Class X felonies. Police believe Logsdon is responsible for a total of 15 robberies—some of which were in Lincoln Park and as —but the remaining four occurred in DuPage County. That county is still continuing its investigation, police said.

Logsdon appeared in court late Wednesday morning but was taken away by an ambulance to a nearby hospital. It was unclear as of 2 p.m. why he was hospitalized.

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How was he caught?

“At 6:18 p.m. on Feb. 4—just over 7 hours after [the Wicker Park robbery]—Logsdon was located in the 200 block of West Lake Street in Elmhurst and was arrested at that time,” Skokie police Cmdr. Brian Baker said. “During the 41 days that this pattern has occurred, 15 armed robberies were committed in eight jurisdictions in two counties.”

A stylist at the Wicker Park Great Clips was able to get Logsdon’s plate number as well as a description of his vehicle. That information was given to numerous police agencies in the Chicago area. Employees at that shop declined to comment on the robbery Monday afternoon. 

“When the witness provided the license plate number, one [number] was off,” said Chicago Police Chief of Investigations Tom Byrne. “A police officer sat in his car and ran different variations until one popped up with the same match of vehicle."

With that information, Skokie police ran the plate number and found that Logsdon had recently been stopped for two minor traffic violations in Skokie. He was taken Monday to the Skokie Police Department, where officers ran numerous lineups with different victims who all identified Logsdon as the robber, Baker said.

“A great response by the Chicago police department and great response by the victim who got a license plate number led Skokie police investigators [to a vehicle] that had been stopped for minor traffic violations,” Baker said. “That person had similar characteristics as the robber.”

All in all, Cook County saw 11 robberies—one in Broadview, four in Lincoln Park, one in Wicker Park, two in Niles, two in Skokie and one in Morton Grove. Logsdon also robbed a tobacco store, Baker added.

The vehicle Logsdon was using during the robberies did not belong to him, police noted. The commander also added that its owner was “unaware that the vehicle was being used” in the robberies.

What was his motive?

Police officials said the robber’s motivation was money, but would not reveal if the suspect had a drug problem when asked by reporters.

“That information will be revealed in court,” Baker said.

Logsdon’s court date was not scheduled as of Wednesday morning, when additional information wasn't immediately available.

Check back with Patch as this story develops.

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