Three suspects accused of trying to rob a business in Vernon Hills last week now face additional charges in connection with a similar incident in Crystal Lake earlier this month, police said Monday.Christian Martinez-Guererro, 18, of Wauconda, was charged with attempted armed robbery and aggravated unlawful restraint Friday. Monica A. Cabral, 19, of Wauconda, and Eliu Villicana-Mancilla, 26, of Chicago, were charged with the same offenses Monday for their alleged involvement in the May 6 incident. Villicana-Mancilla was also charged with armed violence.
The three were charged with attempted armed robbery in Vernon Hills late last week.
Investigators say there are similarities between the attempted robbery in Vernon Hills and robberies in Crystal Lake and Harvard, according to Lt. James Popovits of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.
The first took place May 6 at Morelia Boutique in Crystal Lake, when two men allegedly attempted to rob the business. A day later, three men reportedly robbed the New Look Beauty Salon in Harvard at gunpoint, taking an undisclosed amount of money.
Officers had been watching suspects in those cases when the alleged events at the La Tienda Del Pueblo store on Townline Road in Vernon Hills began to unfold Thursday morning, Popovits said.
Police allege that the three were under surveillance when members in a group they were with entered the Vernon Hills store just after it opened for business and attempted to rob the owners at gunpoint. That’s when police officers who had been trailing the three rushed in through the front, Popovits said. Two suspects were also apprehended outside in a vehicle.
Jose M. Villicana-Mancilla, 23, and Joaquin Lopez, 20, both of Chicago, were also charged with attempted armed robbery.
The investigation is ongoing. Deportation proceedings are also in progress.