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Fourth Member of Alleged Chicago Robbery Crew Ordered Detained in Federal Custody Pending Trial
The fourth member of a robbery crew allegedly responsible for violently robbing multiple liquor stores, convenience stores, and bars in Chicago has been ordered detained in federal custody pending trial.
Xavier Harris, 26, of Chicago, conspired with his brother and two others to rob or attempt to rob more than a dozen Chicago businesses in 2023 and 2024, according to charges unsealed last month in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
In three of the robberies, Xavier Harris brandished a gun and pistol-whipped victims, including the cashier of a liquor store in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood, according to a government memorandum filed in support of Xavier Harris’s detention.
Xavier Harris was arrested last month.
Over the government’s objection, a federal Magistrate Judge ordered him released on an unsecured $10,000 appearance bond.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office appealed the release to U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood, who on Monday ordered Xavier Harris to remain detained without bond pending trial.
The three other defendants – Xavier Harris’s brother, ARDARIES HARRIS, 27, of Chicago, JORDAN FOX, 25, of Chicago, and ROOSEVELT VEAL, 27, of Rockford, Ill. – were previously ordered detained without bond while they await trial.
All four defendants have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, robbery, attempted robbery, and firearm charges. The maximum sentence for each of the defendants is life in federal prison. Ardaries Harris, Fox, and Veal each face mandatory minimum sentences of thirty years, while Xavier Harris faces a mandatory minimum of 21 years.
A full list of the 15 robberies and attempted robberies can be found here.
The detention order was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.
Valuable assistance was provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago, the Illinois State Police, and the U.S. Marshals Service’s Great Lakes Regional Task Force.
This investigation is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
The case was also conducted in coordination with ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center of Chicago (CGIC), a centralized law enforcement hub that focuses exclusively on investigating and preventing gun violence in Chicago and throughout northern Illinois.
“The nature and circumstances of these serious offenses and the weight of the evidence demonstrate the danger posed to the community by Xavier Harris if he is released,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily C.R. Vermylen and Stephanie Stern argued in the government’s detention memorandum.
“Xavier Harris committed these robberies with absolutely no regard for human life or human safety.”
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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