A six-time convicted felon “with a history of scams” allegedly intimidated and stole cash from an 82-year-old woman amid a home repair swindle last month, CWB Chicago reported.
Sonny Miller, 32, and two other males arrived Feb. 2 at a home in the 5400 block of South Drexel on Chicago’s south side in a white pickup truck, the outlet said, citing a detention filing.
Prosecutors said Miller had more than $2,000 on him when he was arrested, the outlet reported.
Miller allegedly approached the victim’s daughter as she was walking into the home and told her he had performed roofing work on the home a decade earlier and was there to do additional work on the basement, CWB Chicago said.
The daughter walked Miller inside to speak with her mother, who requires a cane to stand and walk, the outlet said.
Miller allegedly told the daughter to boil some water as he would need it to mix concrete, CWB Chicago reported.
Prosecutors said when the daughter left the room, Miller told her elderly mother the basement work would cost $200 — and that if she refused to pay, she would face steep fines, a police visit, and a financial lien placed on her home, the outlet noted.
At that time, the two males who had arrived at the home with Miller were outside applying unnecessary concrete to the basement’s exterior, CWB Chicago said, citing the detention filing.
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When the phony work was done, Miller went to collect payment. The elderly woman grabbed an envelope containing cash, which Miller allegedly snatched from her hand, then ran out the door and fled in the pickup with the other two men. The woman, the filing noted, “was not able to put up much of a resistance.”
The victim and her daughter called Chicago police, estimating that $900 had been taken. Responding officers collected a laminated solicitation flyer Miller had left behind, along with video footage gathered from neighbors, according to prosecutors. One video captured the truck’s license plate and images of the men.
Detectives circulated a bulletin to cops throughout the area, and Skokie police responded with information. Des Plaines police later spotted the truck when it triggered a license plate reader in their jurisdiction. Officers stopped the vehicle and detained its occupants.
CWB Chicago, citing the detention filing, said one of the males in the truck — identified as Miller’s cousin — admitted to performing the fake concrete work outside the victim’s home and allegedly identified Miller as the one who spoke to the elderly woman in her home.
Prosecutors said Miller had more than $2,000 on him when he was arrested, the outlet reported. Miller denied ever being at the woman’s home, CWB Chicago added.
Judge James Murphy III — who described Miller as a six-time convicted felon “with a history of scams” — ordered Miller detained, the outlet said.
Miller is charged with robbery of a victim older than 60, robbery, and aggravated home fraud by deception of a victim older than 60, CWB Chicago said.
Cook County Jail records on Thursday indicate Miller is behind bars on no bond; his next court date is scheduled for May 6.
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Repeat offender, Chicago, Arrested, Jailed, Robbery charges, Robbery of a victim older than 60, Aggravated home fraud by deception of a victim older than 60, Swindle, Elderly victim, Scam, Crime