Wilmette Police Arrest Two in Attempted iPhone Snatch

Wilmette police arrested two Chicago residents for attempted strong arm robbery at the Linden CTA station early Thursday morning.

Gregory Harrison, 19, and his juvenile accomplice tried to grab an iPhone from a woman around 5 a.m. But the victim managed to hold onto her phone and call police. When police arrived to the station, CTA employees directed the officers to the train car where the suspects had fled.

When taken into custody,"The two suspects admitted to riding the CTA train looking for a victim with an iPhone," according to a statement released from Wilmette police Friday morning.

Harrison has been charged with a felony count of attempted robbery while the juvenile has been petitioned for the same charge at juvenile court, according to police.

Meanwhile, Evanston Patch editor Jessica Rudis, , offered this safety advice to readers:

Download a phone-tracking application. The Chicago Police who responded (this happened in Chicago) told me they would have had a much easier time getting my phone back if I had a GPS tracking app. They recommended a free app called "Find My iPhone." That app also allows you to delete all of your files, apps, and other information on your phone from any computer. 

-Back up your phone constantly.

-If anything does happen to you, remember to get a good description of the suspect. Hair cut and color, skin color, height, weight, what the person is wearing, and any visible tattoos or other markings can help the police immensely. 

-Don't keep yourself logged into applications like Twitter and Facebook on your phone. Yes it's annoying to have to log in every time, but it's much worse to have that icky feeling that your robber has access to your full name, friends list, and so on.

And, most importantly:

-Don't use your iPhone on the train. I always thought that if I just kept a tight grip or held it safely in my lap I'd be somehow immune to robbers, but I did both of those things earlier today. It seems silly, but after this happened numerous people told me that as a rule, they never use their phones when they're on the train.