No injuries were reported in any of the incidents

ROCHELLE — The Rochelle Police Department responded to two robbery incidents and a shots fired call in the past week, RPD Chief Eric Higby said. No injuries occurred in any of the incidents.

On the evening of Sunday, May 8 at 11:47 p.m., RPD received a 911 call about an armed robbery at Road Ranger in town at 1101 N. 7th St. Two individuals with firearms entered the business and demanded money from the clerk before leaving with an undisclosed amount. By the time officers arrived, the offenders had left the scene. 

“There was a vehicle that we found out had left that location 10 seconds after our officers started to head that way,” Higby said. “That vehicle went north on Illinois Route 251 without lights on. It may have been related, but we’re not sure. We did get a description of the individuals but we never did locate them. We have some information to go on, but it’s kind of a long shot at this point. We did have a quick response, but it takes the offender just a shade less time than it takes us. Unfortunately they were gone by the time we got there.” 

On Tuesday around 1 p.m. a 911 call of a robbery at the Clark Station at 1180 N. 7th St. was made by a third party. Higby said the caller was on the phone was the business’s clerk when someone entered with a knife and demanded money. The third party individual then called 911. 

The offender was not given any money by the clerk before fleeing west on Carrie Avenue, Higby said. The RPD chief said the offender was a male and wore gloves and a mask. After arriving to see the man had fled, RPD searched the surrounding areas to no avail. 

“It’s possible he had a car or apartment or home in the area,” Higby said. “We had a good response to that one, too. Unfortunately the delay is just how long it takes for someone to call it in. The investigations into both robbery incidents are not likely to pan out without additional information or help from the public.”

At 8:58 p.m. on Wednesday, RPD received a call regarding shots fired in the area of 709 Lincoln Highway. Higby said the victims, a male adult and a female adult, were parked in the area and an individual walked up to their car with a gun and told them to leave the area. The victims pulled away, and one shot was fired into the car.

“We did not ever recover the actual round,” Higby said. “Officers saw a hole in the seat and that was the presumption. It went through the passenger door. Nobody was injured. We’re not sure yet on a possible motive or leads. Every time we have a shooting, we consider gang activity, but we’re not ready to say that yet.”

Higby said he was appreciative of the fact that the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office helped with several squad cars and personnel on Wednesday night. 

“When you have a situation like that, you can never have enough help,” Higby said.

Higby said he can’t remember the last time the city had three high-profile crime incidents in such a short time. He called the week “busy” and “out of the ordinary,” especially for weeknights. 

“It’s good that it’s not common for us, but it doesn’t make me feel great,” Higby said. “It makes us anticipate a busy summer. We haven’t found any connections between the three. It just seems like unfortunate timing. But it’s also almost worrisome that they weren’t related. It may be people getting out in hot weather after being inside and after COVID-19.”