Linn County jury convicts Chicago man of robbing couple in garage

A Linn County jury convicted a Chicago man Friday of robbing a couple at gunpoint in their garage on July 2, 2024, before fleeing and crashing his vehicle into a creek bed.

The jury, following about three days of testimony, found Ivory Edward Warren, 48, guilty of two charges of first-degree robbery, first-degree theft against an older individual, driving while license was denied or revoked and possession of drug paraphernalia.

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He faces up to 75 years in prison with a mandatory minimum of 35 years to serve before being eligible for parole.

Marion police responded to a home about 9:04 a.m. July 2, 2024, for a report of an armed robbery. Janet and Steven Schroeder said the suspect entered their garage and pointed what they thought was a gun at them and demanded items and money. The man, later identified at Warren, took a designer crossbody purse from Janet Schroeder, pushing her to the ground to retrieve it. Warren also demanded Steven Schroder’s wallet before fleeing in a white sport utility vehicle.

While officers were responding to the robbery, another 911 call reported a crash involving a white SUV at the intersection of Charter Oak Lane and Northridge Point SE — around the block from where the robbery happened.

Warren was the person in the SUV, and he was identified by witnesses as the robber. Some of the items stolen during the robbery were recovered from his vehicle after it towed out of creek, along with a BB gun with a black handle and silver slide.

Janet Schroder, who was 69 at the time, was leaving that morning to receive medical treatment before she and her husband were robbed, according to court documents.

Sentencing hasn’t been set at this time.

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