Teen soccer players robbed on their way to practice; dad says police were not helpful

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — Archer Park near Midway International Airport is home to organized youth baseball leagues and not-so-formal pickup games, but there are also fresh signs of crime.

“They were just saying, ‘Give us your stuff or you are going to die,’ and ‘Get on the ground or you are going to die,’” said armed robbery victim Moises Tamayo.

Moises — just 14 years old — said he was leaving the park after soccer practice with six others just before 7 p.m. Tuesday.

“There was this black Audi that circled the block once or twice,” he said.

But that white Audi with the tinted windows circled back a third time.

“They had gotten out saying like, ‘Get on the ground or you are going to die,’” Moises said.

All seven were forced to the ground and robbed of phones, cash, credit cards and other personal belongings.

“My son got a notification that his credit card was being used at a gas station over on the West said,” said Carlos Rico, the father of one of the victims.

Rico’s said about an hour after the robbery he received a fraud alert from his bank.

“We were able to look up that location at the exact time that transaction was happening,” said Rico.

Someone tried swiping the stolen card at a West Side gas station, some five miles from the park.

“Initially I thought, ‘Great! Bingo! We got these guys. All I have to do is call 911 and tell them, ‘Hey, we got a hit on this credit card that just got stolen about a half hour ago,” he said.

But Rico said police did not jump on the tip.

“Unfortunately I didn’t get the response I wanted, Rico said. “I told them I wanted to give them timely information that can possibly catch the two guys that just robbed a group of kids.”

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