A four-time felon on parole for being an armed habitual criminal is now accused of hijacking an Amazon delivery truck near the Gold Coast on Wednesday afternoon.
Prosecutors on Thursday charged Cedric White with armed vehicular hijacking in the case. Illinois Department of Corrections officials are moving to revoke his parole.
A 44-year-old Amazon driver reportedly noticed White looking at him as he made deliveries shortly after noon on December 23. Then, he allegedly came face-to-face with the 31-year-old parolee as he prepared to step off the truck to make more deliveries in the 1100 block of North Lasalle.
White lifted his shirt to display a handgun and ordered the driver to hand over his keys, Assistant State’s Attorney Jocelyn Schieve said. The driver complied, and White allegedly drove the Amazon truck into a nearby alley that has a dead end.
White got out of the van at the end of the alley and fled, Schieve said. A CPD surveillance camera reportedly captured images of White crossing a nearby intersection minutes after the hijacking.
Around 1 p.m., police were called to a gas station in the 300 block of West Chicago after White tried to go behind the counter and then began pulling on car doors in the lot, Schieve said. Police detained White, who was allegedly wearing distinctive green shoes that the Amazon driver described to officers. The courier later confirmed that White is the person who hijacked him, according to Schieve.
White allegedly told investigators that he was inside the Amazon truck, and he drove off with it after finding the keys inside. But during a bond court hearing on Thursday, White’s public defender said White has no memory of the incident, and he denies any involvement.
Judge Arthur Willis set bail for White at $500,000 and ordered him to go onto electronic monitoring if he can post a 10% deposit bond. White is not eligible to bail out until IDOC decides if it will revoke his parole.
State records show White was paroled in May after serving most of a six-year sentence he received for armed habitual criminal and a concurrent three-year sentence for possessing burglary tools.
His previous felony prison sentences include four years for being a felon in possession of a weapon in 2009 and two years for retail theft in 2008.
