A former Tennessee convict burst into a Lakeview neighborhood restaurant over the weekend, robbed a waitress and forced a suburban mother and her two children into a back bathroom before threatening to shoot them, prosecutors said Monday.
But the quick-thinking mother texted her husband, and police were able to arrest the suspect inside the Cassava bakery and smoothie shop, Chicago police said.
William Castle, 43, was charged with aggravated robbery, unlawful restraint, kidnapping and attempted robbery in the incident Sunday evening. He was ordered held on $1 million bail by Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr.
The Buffalo Grove family was eating at Cassava at 3338 N. Clark St. about 6:10 p.m. when the suspect entered the kitchen area, grabbed a server by the collar and said, "Give me all the cash," according to a police report.
Cook County prosecutors said Castle claimed to have a gun and threatened to shoot the family if they called the police.
Castle ordered the 43-year-old mother, her son, 13, and her daughter, 10, into a rear bathroom, police said. He demanded their cellphones, but the mother was able to text her husband moments before she handed her phone over, police said.
"Don't come robber in here call 911," the police report quoted the woman as texting her husband.
The husband called police.
In the meantime, the robber demanded that the waitress shut all the lights off to make it appear as though the restaurant was closed, according to the report. The suspect then grabbed the teenage waitress by the shoulders, shook her violently and tried to kiss her. As police arrived in front of the shop, the robber took the waitress to the back of the business. As the woman screamed and started to cry, he threatened to choke her if she didn't stop making noise, according to the police report.
The suspect then tried to run out the back of the store, police said. An officer stationed there arrested him at gunpoint, and several other officers handcuffed him, the report said.
Castle was found with $333 in cash in his pocket, prosecutors said.
Castle's record in Tennessee includes a 1993 conviction for attempted rape, robbery and kidnapping, prosecutors said. In 1994 he was convicted of aggravated sexual battery, robbery and kidnapping and sentenced to 16 years in state prison.
Castle completed his parole in September, according to Tennessee state records. He was required to register as a sex offender.
jmeisner@tribune.com
rsobol@tribune.com
Woman's text message thwarts Lakeview restaurant robbery
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Woman's text message thwarts Lakeview restaurant robbery
