Police: Armed Robber Strikes Two Darien Strip Malls

Two armed robberies took place at Darien strip malls in the past two days, Police Chief Robert Pavelchik said during Monday's City Council meeting.

The first incident happened Sunday night and the second occurred Monday around 5 p.m., Pavelchik said. The department is not ready to release the locations because of the ongoing investigation, he said.

The same person is suspected in both incidents and detectives have that suspect’s license plate number, Pavelchik said. The suspect did display a weapon, but Pavelchik said it was not a gun.

Pavelchik addressed some recent concerns that the Police Department was withholding information for political reasons. He said sometimes it’s necessary for the department to delay releasing information to preserve the integrity of the investigation and protect officers' safety.

"Community safety is my foremost concern," Pavelchik said. "My sole purpose [tonight] was to tell the community they were, in fact, safe."

In a separate incident, Pavelchik said Darien Police arrested two men around 3 a.m. Monday after a truck driver sleeping in his cab reported that the men attempted to break into his truck. The truck was parked in a commercial trucking lot next to Darien’s Public Works Department.

The department’s K-9 dog tracked one of the suspects through Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, while the other was arrested at a nearby McDonald’s, Pavelchik said. A third suspect is still at large.