Man with machete, Andre Gonzalez, went on nine-day ‘crime spree’ on Northwest Side, police say

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A man has been charged with using a machete to rob four people on the Northwest Side over the last week.

Andre Gonzalez, 35, was arrested Monday evening after a fugitive task force team pulled him over near his home in the 10000 block of South Avenue C on the East Side, Police Supt. David Brown told reporters Wednesday.

“On May 27, Gonzalez went on a crime spree that lasted nine days,” Brown said.

Gonzalez faces four counts of armed robbery in connection to three attacks, but detectives are reviewing other robberies.

On June 3, Gonzalez got out of his girlfriend’s silver sedan and confronted two women with a machete in the 4000 block of West Eddy Street in Irving Park, Brown said. Gonzalez told them, “Give me your stuff before something happens,” according to Brown.

On June 4, Gonzalez confronted a woman, 31, who was walking home and demanded her purse in the 3000 block of North Haussen Court in Logan Square, Brown said.

Sunday evening, he confronted a man carrying a pizza in the 3700 block of North Troy Street and swung the machete, Brown said. The man, 52, fell to the ground — avoiding the blade — then threw his wallet and pizza and ran to safety.

That attack happened a day after detectives issued a community alert warning of other similar robberies:

• 8 p.m. on May 27 in the 3000 block of North Christiana in Logan Square
• 11:45 p.m. on May 30 in the 3200 block of North Monticello in Avondale
• 12 a.m. on May 30 in the 4100 block of West Fletcher in Belmont Gardens
• 9 p.m. on June 3 in the 3300 block of North Monticello in Avondale

Gonzalez has been convicted five times in the past for robberies and other crimes, Brown said. His last arrest was in 2016.

Police are looking into reports that the suspect in the machete attacks may have had a getaway driver in at least one of the attacks, Brown said.

Gonzalez has several distinctive tattoos — including a tattoo of his name on his face — that helped police identify him. Brown said. Detectives were able to watch Gonzalez’s home after identifying the car he was using, and tracking its location with license plate reading cameras, Brown said.

The machete was not recovered, Brown said.

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