Routine Traffic Stop Leads to Standoff With Police

A routine traffic stop led to a standoff between police and three armed robbery suspects in a South Side hotel last week.

It started on Wednesday, when Chicago police stopped a car in the 8600 block of South Halsted. A man ran from the vehicle, but was arrested after a short foot chase. That man was 20-year-old Eric Rawson.

Police say they found a handgun on Rawson, and soon realized he matched the description of one of three thieves who robbed a hair salon earlier that day. They also discovered the car Rawson was driving had been stolen in a carjacking in Ohio.

Police traced Rawson to a hotel in the 10000 block of South Halsted, and converged on the site. Two people were arrested after they were seen running from a balcony as officers pulled up. A third person -- 31-year-old Robert Biggs -- holed up in a hotel room and refused to budge.

Officers negotiated with Biggs for hours before they stormed the hotel room and took him by force. He was ultimately charged with several felonies, including armed robbery.

Kristina Hickman, one of the two people arrested after running from the hotel balcony, was also charged with armed robbery and other felonies, including drug possession. The second person seen on the balcony was not involved in the robbery, but was charged with reckless conduct, according to police.

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