Two men accused of stealing gaming system at gunpoint in Westmont: prosecutors

Two DuPage County men are accused of armed robbery after allegedly robbing a man of his gaming console and cell phone at gunpoint, authorities said.

A motion was granted Thursday to deny pre-trial release for Nicholas Cozzie, 20, of the 3100 block of Roberts Drive, Woodridge, and Jakob Evans, 18, of the 400 block of George Street, Wood Dale, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

About 5:04 p.m. Aug. 12, Westmont police responded to an armed robbery at the Suffield Apartments on West 63rd Street.

The victim told police he placed an Xbox Series X console and accessories for sale on the OfferUp application and arranged to sell the items to another user on the application, according to the release.

The victim received a text message from the purchaser, later identified as Evans, indicating that he had arrived in the apartment complex parking lot to complete the sale.

Moments later, a blue Toyota Yaris entered the parking lot and two men, later identified as Evans and Cozzie, exited the car and introduced themselves to the victim as the purchasers of the items, authorities said.

After inspecting the items, Cozzie placed them into the Toyota and told the victim he would pay him electronically via his phone. Evans then pulled out a black and silver handgun, pointed it at the victim, took his phone and said, “this is mine now” and told the victim to run, according to the release.

As the victim ran away, Cozzie and Evans got into the Toyota and fled. The victim called the police.

About 5:42 p.m., a DuPage County sheriff’s deputy saw the Toyota traveling eastbound on 75th street near Interstate 355 and initiated a traffic stop. During the stop, the passenger, later identified as Evans, fled on foot. When the officer chased Evans, Cozzie attempted to flee but was arrested by additional responding officers, authorities said.

Evans was arrested after a brief foot pursuit. When searching the vehicle, police found a black and silver 9mm Smith and Wesson handgun in the glovebox and a black BB gun underneath the driver’s seat, according to the release.

“The allegations that Nicholas Cozzie and Jakob Evans robbed an innocent man at gunpoint in a public place in the broad daylight are extremely alarming,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “We are all thankful that the victim in this case was not physically harmed.”

“Our community will not tolerate those who commit violent crimes and prey on innocent people who are simply trying to sell goods. We are grateful that no one was injured during this incident. I want to remind everyone that we have a designated safe exchange zone located at our police department for conducting transactions,” Westmont Chief of Police Brian Gruen said in the release.

The next court date for both defendants is scheduled for Sept. 8.