Suspect from 3-Year-Old Armed Robbery Captured in Virginia

A witness who didn't speak with police last year has helped officers hunt down a suspect in a three-year-old Palos Heights armed robbery case.

This week, police captured Jerry R. Wyatt, who is suspected in the April 2010 robbery of the Totally Tan Salon on Harlem Avenue, police said. Wyatt, 53, is accused of pulling a knife on a female employee of the tanning salon and grabbing cash from the drawer.

Palos Heights detectives and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office secured an arrest warrant earlier this week after evidence found at the salon and interviews with witnesses pointed to Wyatt as a suspect, police said.

Palos Heights police didn't find out about a key witness until well after the 2010 robbery, said Sgt. Tim Holder.

“It was a year and a half after the armed robbery before we even learned this witness existed," Holder said.

Investigators were able to determine distant relatives of Wyatt's were living in Virgina. This information aided in tracking down Wyatt after years of being on the lam.

Virginia State police arrested Wyatt on Wednesday at his home in the 1900 block of Cobbs Mountain Road in Bedford, VA. He is due in a Beford County courtroom on Monday to determine whether he'll fight extradition to Illinois. He won't be formally charged until he returns to Cook County.

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