James Eric Mondragon
HAMMOND — After skipping out on work release, a man terrorized three Hammond businesses, including hitting employees with diapers, throwing tip jars at staff and stealing Christmas toys, court records alleged.
James Eric Mondragon, 37, of Hammond, was charged with robbery, two counts of auto theft, attempted battery, three counts of intimidation, two counts of theft, operating a vehicle as a habitual traffic offender, resisting law enforcement, reckless driving, disregarding a stop signal, speeding, unsafe lane movement and failure to return to lawful detention, according to the Superior Court of Lake County.
On the afternoon of Dec. 11, police were called to multiple businesses following a blitz of theft and harassment along Calumet Avenue in Hammond.
Investigators were called to a Dollar General at 504 165th St. in Hammond for a reported theft. An employee told police she saw a man eating food from the store shelves and hiding merchandise in his jacket, as well as carrying two boxes of Luvs diapers.
When she confronted him, he used the diaper boxes to shove the employee out of the way as he walked to the doors, court records said. A second employee then told the man to leave as the first staff member went to the business next door to get help.
In response, Mondragon allegedly ran up to the second employee and bumped her with his chest, yelling, “Both you (expletives) are going to die tonight,” according to court reports.
He then left with what employees said may have been a bag of chips and other items.
Police were also called to the nearby JJ’s Fish and Chicken at 6846 Calumet Avenue, where a restaurant employee said the same man came in and ordered 30 chicken wings. He said he wanted something that was already prepared, but the employee said he would have to wait for the order to be made.
He then demanded some French fries, but became angry when the employee would not give him fries right away. He then allegedly threw a tip jar at her and said he was going to go get his gun, leaving the store. As he drove away, the woman was able to get his license plate number to give to police.
Next, investigators were called to Walgreens at 7236 Calumet Ave., where a staff member said the same man entered the business without a mask. When she asked him to put on a mask, he replied that he was only there to get one thing and continued into the business.
He then proceeded to get a shopping cart and began filling it with $200 worth of Christmas toys and other merchandise. As he made his way to the exit, the employee told him he had to stop or she would call police.
He told her to go ahead and call police and continued out the door with the shopping cart, proceeding to fill his vehicle with the stolen toys, court reports said.
When police arrived, the employee pointed out Mondragon’s vehicle at 173rd Street and Calumet Avenue. During this time, officers said they saw the vehicle make a U-turn through a red light. The man ended up heading onto Interstate 80/94 with police in pursuit.
During the chase, the suspect vehicle reached 110 mph in a 55-mph zone, making unsafe lane changes and driving aggressively through construction zones, police reported.
Mondragon eventually ended up crashing at 45th Avenue and Carolina Street in Gary and was subsequently arrested. Police then learned he had multiple felony warrants and was missing from his work release program, court reports said.
Earlier records show that Mondragon had previously been convicted of theft in February 2012 and auto theft in September 2017.
Further investigation also revealed that the vehicle he was driving was reported as stolen out of East Chicago and was full of items from Dollar General and Walgreens, police said.
Police showed all of the employees at the three businesses a photo of Mondragon, which they said was the same man who they saw. Surveillance footage from all three stores also confirmed the suspect’s identity.
Mondragon’s next hearing is set for January 6, court records said.
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December 20, 2020 at 10:05AM
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Man attacks staff with diapers, tip jar before crashing stolen car after pursuit, courts say - nwitimes.com
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