A 17-year-old charged with shooting a man during a carjacking attempt in Logan Square on Wednesday is the seventh person accused of killing or shooting someone in Chicago this year while awaiting trial on other serious felonies.
The situation could have been much worse for the victim, who suffered a graze wound to his hand. His iPhone deflected a second round that the teen allegedly fired at his stomach, Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Deboni said.
“There but for the grace of God,” Judge Arthur Willis remarked after hearing the allegations against Travon Duffie during a bond hearing Thursday.
Wednesday morning’s events began when Duffie allegedly took an orange Honda Scion at gunpoint from a 31-year-old man at a gas station in the Austin neighborhood around 5:45 a.m. Two co-offenders who helped him fled the scene in another car, according to Deboni.
About 30 minutes later, Duffie ran up to a 57-year-old man as the victim got into his car with a cup of coffee at Amoco, 2338 North Sacramento, Deboni said. Duffie allegedly displayed a handgun and demanded the man’s keys.
But the victim resisted, and Duffie shot him in his left hand, Deboni alleged. The teen then allegedly fired a second round at the man’s abdomen, but the iPhone blocked its path. The entire incident was captured on surveillance video.
Duffie returned to the carjacked Scion that he arrived in and sped away, Deboni said.
A few minutes later, Duffie crashed the car into another vehicle outside Humboldt Park. Police found him nearby with a handgun in his waistband, Deboni continued.
Duffie has three pending aggravated battery cases in juvenile court, Deboni said.
Prosecutors on Thursday charged Duffie as an adult with aggravated battery by discharging a firearm and three counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon as a juvenile.
Judge Willis ordered him held without bail.
Related reporting
- At least 32 people charged with murder in Chicago last year were free on bail at the time of the killings (January 4, 2021)
- We find another man accused of committing murder while on affordable bail in 2020 (January 9, 2021)
- #1: 16-year-old charged with shooting man during robbery while awaiting trial for felony (January 12, 2021)
- #2: Man fatally shot girlfriend while on electronic monitoring for November gun case, prosecutors say (January 20, 2021)
- #3: On bail for 3 separate felony cases, “fanged” man now charged with killing 12-year-old in DUI crash (January 23, 2021)
- #4: Man on affordable bail for his 3rd felony gun case is charged with weekend murder (January 28, 2021)
- #5: Man charged with murder while on bail for 3rd gun case and escape (February 5, 2021)
- #6: Man, on bail for attempted murder and robbery, charged with killing woman while speeding away from police traffic stop (February 25, 2021)
