Radio Shack Robbery Suspect Charged in Oak Lawn Standoff

A man suspected in several Southland Radio Shack armed robberies and who allegedly held Oak Lawn police at a bay with a gun was charged on Thursday with one count of a felon in possession of a firearm.

Reginald Taylor, 47, of Chicago, is accused of barricading himself in residential stairwell armed with a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun and threatening police. Oak Lawn police said that Taylor hid there after fleeing officers when an employee of the Radio Shack store in at 4819 W. 95th St. called to report a suspicious person.

Taylor was placed in a lineup at the Oak Lawn police station where employees from other Radio Shack stores in Frankfort and Palos Heights were brought to see if he was the man who robbed their stores on Nov. 1 and Nov. 7, respectively, police said.

Oak Lawn police said that Frankfort and Palos Heights police departments were handling their own separate investigations.

Taylor is believed to have robbed the Radio Shack at 1901 S. Harlem Ave. in Palos Heights around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. After allegedly forcing an employee to hand over money, police said that Taylor drove to Oak Lawn.

A store employee recognized Taylor from information previously provided to the Oak Lawn store by police. The employee called police and Taylor reportedly fled on foot when Oak Lawn police arrived.

An Oak Lawn tact officer chased Taylor through the neighborhood where he was cornered in a rear stairwell of a home near 96th Street and LaCrosse Avenue, police said.

For the next hour,Taylor was said to have held his gun in mouth, threatening to harm himself and police. Police said that a detective talked Taylor into giving up his weapon and he surrendered peacefully.

On Thursday, an employee from the Radio Shack in the 21100 block of south LaGrange Road in Frankfort identified Taylor from the Nov. 1 robbery. Police there were able to develop a composite sketch of the alleged robbery with the assistance of the Will County Sheriff’s Office. This sketch was shared with police departments throughout the area.

It was from the composite sketch that the Oak Lawn Radio Shack employee was able to identify Taylor who police said was acting suspiciously in the store on Wednesday afternoon.

Charges for Taylor in the Frankfort armed robbery are pending through the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office. 

Palos Heights police are also working with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office on pending charges, Deputy Chief Dave Delaney said.

Taylor was previously sentenced to 8 years in prison stemming from a 1988 conviction for residential burglary in Chicago.

Taylor is being held at Cook County Jail, where he is to appear in bond court at the Bridgeview Court House on Friday.

Palos Patch editor Nick Swedberg contributed to this report.