Prosecutors have charged a 40-year-old University Park man in connection with robberies and attempted robberies of 14 south suburban businesses, including three crimes in Lynwood.

Fred Telford, of the 730 block of Sandpiper Court, is charged with 10 counts of aggravated robbery and two counts of attempted aggravated robbery, Olympia Fields police Det. Cmdr. James Keith said.

The charges stem from robberies that began May 15 in Park Forest and continued through Matteson, Richton Park, Olympia Fields, Chicago Heights, University Park and Lynwood, Keith said.

"We all knew we were dealing with the same offender," Keith said

The suspect would try to make sure no one else was in the store and would imply a weapon with his hand in his jacket pocket or under his shirt before demanding money, he said.

Victims said no weapon was ever displayed, Keith said.

Police arrested Telford about 12:15 p.m. Friday at his University Park home. Two days later, a Cook County judge set bond at $120,000.

Telford is scheduled to appear July 14 for a preliminary hearing in Cook County court in Markham.

Police got a break when Richton Park police detectives received a partial license plate number.

A database search pulled up partial matches within a 10-mile radius of Olympia Fields, Keith said. From there, investigators pulled motor vehicle records with driver's license information and photographs, which led to the same make and model of vehicle that witnesses had described, he said.

Keith credited the work of detectives from several local law enforcement agencies, including detectives Cathy Filippi and Rich Gerlach from Richton Park, Al Castillo and Dan Kirby from Lynwood, Mark Akiyama from Olympia Fields and Det. Cmdr. Pete Green from Park Forest.