Evanston police are on the lookout for a 6-foot-tall white male in his early twenties, wearing a black jacket on a steamy evening, who is a suspect in two incidents downtown last night.
According to Cmdr. Joseph Dugan, the suspect stole a backpack from an employee at the Chipotle Mexican Grill in the 700 block of Church Street shortly after 8 p.m., then headed for the nearby Hilton Orrington Hotel, where he brandished a kitchen knife at a clerk behind the counter, demanding that he open a cash drawer.
When the clerk replied that he was unable to open the drawer because he did not have a key, the suspect left the hotel by a rear door, Dugan said.
Police responding to the incident at the hotel were informed by an employee at Chipotle of the earlier incident involving the backpack.
Cmdr. Dugan said officers were surprised that a young man would be wearing a jacket on such a warm night.