Quartet charged with robbing man outside auto parts store

Four people are accused of robbing a man and injuring him while trying to take his phone outside of a Griffith auto parts store.

Thomas Christiano Diaz, 35, of Munster; Misti Marie Harbison, 41, of Gary; Anthony John Alvarez Jr., 25, of Hobart; Jamal Donta Haskins, 33, of Gary are charged with robbery resulting in bodily injury, a Level 3 felony.

According to the probable cause affidavit, the victim told Griffith Police that he was brought to the O’Reilly Auto Parts, located at 600 E. Ridge Road, around 3:40 p.m. on Dec. 21. Diaz and a woman passenger had picked him up to go grocery shopping, but went inside the store while the man stayed in the car.

Diaz had pulled alongside a blue Kia vehicle that was driven by a woman and also had a woman in the passenger seat and two men in the backseat, court records state. The witness began to grow suspicious of the occupants of the other car. When Diaz exited the store, records state that he approached the men in the Kia to buy Xanax.

The witness grew uncomfortable and exited the car, walked to the rear of the Kia and took a picture of its license plate. He started to walk to the entrance of O’Reilly’s when he was rushed by Diaz and the two men, the affidavit states. One of the men said “You don’t want this. I will put one in you.” The men yelled at him and took about $110 in cash from him, court records state. The woman driving the Kia said “Get his phone, he took pictures of my car.”

Diaz and the two men tried to take his phone from him, but he managed to hold onto it, records state. While he was lying on the ground, Diaz and his female passenger got back into his car and the two men got back into the Kia, which fled eastbound on Ridge Road while Diaz headed west.

The victim called 911 to provide a description of the vehicles and suspects, the affidavit states. He reported suffering pain and soreness on his body and numbness in his arm.

Around 4:11 p.m., a license plate reader at 25th Avenue and Clark Road picked up the Kia heading south and eventually parking in the 2800 block of Hanley Street, court records state. When police arrived, Alvarez was in the front yard, Haskins ran in the back door, and Harbison was inside the residence.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/31/quartet-charged-with-robbing-man-outside-auto-parts-store/