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Police: Chicago robbers use fake roadblocks to trap motorists

The robberies in the Fuller Park neighborhood involved a construction barrel being used to block what was supposed to be an open lane of traffic, police said.

By Ben Hooper
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CHICAGO, March 31 (UPI) -- Chicago police said at least two motorists have been robbed in the Fuller Park neighborhood by thieves using fake roadblocks to get people to exit their cars.

Police said the suspects used a legitimate construction site near a police station in the Fuller Park neighborhood to mask their ruse. They said the robbers used a construction barrel to block the only open lane of traffic.

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Investigators said the robbers, described as a group of three or four men, then waited for motorists to get out of their cars to move the barrels. The men assaulted the victims and robbed them, police said.

The first incident was reported about 6 p.m. Thursday and the second was reported about a block away around 6:15 p.m. Sunday.

"I think it's terrible. I live in the neighborhood. It's unsafe for everybody. It's unsafe for visitors. They don't know who they're robbing. They don't know if they're robbing family members of people in the neighborhood or friends or whoever it may be," neighbor Latonia Jackson told WLS-TV.

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