Chicago police apprehend Wicker Park iPhone thieves

Using a GPS tracking app on a robbery victim's iPhone, police on Wednesday night followed the path of the thieves, and the phone, on the CTA's Blue Line, until they apprehended two teen suspects on the train.

About 9:30 p.m., a 26-year-old man was walking home in the 1300 block of North Leavitt when two men approached him from behind. One of the two grabbed the victim around the neck in a choke-hold and threw him to the ground. The two then took the victim's iPhone from his coat and took his wallet before running away.

Fortunately, the victim had activated an app that tracks lost or stolen iPhones, and when Shakespeare District officers arrived they were able to track down the GPS location of the phone, a statement from police said.

This led them to the Damen Blue Line station, where the signal began traveling southbound, and officers notified the city Office of Emergency Management and Communications to stop the train at Division. There, the officers boarded the last car and found two males matching the description of the robbers.

The victim's phone and property were recovered, police said.

The suspects, 18-year-old Michael Jones of the 4400 block of South Greenwood, and 17-year-old Albert Hill of the 4500 block of South Calumet were both charged with one count of felony robbery, the statement said. They are scheduled to appear in bond court Thursday.

On Wednesday, police issued a community alert regarding similar strong-armed robberies in the late-night hours in River North, where the thieves have taken iPhones after grabbing them or putting the owner in a choke-hold.

Police did not say if there was any connection between those robberies and the one Wednesday night.