Prosecutors have charged a West Side man with a Logan Square carjacking that police have said was part of a pattern of similar crimes in that neighborhood, Bucktown, and Avondale.
Deangelo Wiggins, 22, is charged with felony aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, and driving on a suspended license. Judge David Navarro ordered him held without bail in the carjacking case. He will also be held without bail for violating the terms of a bond in a pending narcotics case, Navarro said.
The carjacking victim, a 31-year-old man, noticed another car following him as he drove to a friend’s house to change the oil in his 2007 Lexus on June 25. As he backed into his friend’s garage on the 1700 block of West Washtenaw around 3:28 p.m., Wiggins allegedly walked up with a gun drawn.
Wiggins ordered the driver to hand over his wallet and keys and lie on the ground, Assistant State’s Attorney Brian Burkhardt said. The man who owns the garage saw what was happening and called 911 as Wiggins got into the victim’s Lexus and drove away, Burkhardt said.
Private surveillance cameras clearly show Wiggins’ face as he approached the victim, according to Burkhardt. Police who’ve had previous contact with Wiggins identified him from the footage, and the victim picked him out of a photo line-up, Burkhardt said.
Shortly after the carjacking, police issued a community alert that linked the Washtenaw carjacking with four others reported within a matter of days around the area. Wiggins has only been charged with the Washtenaw case.
He was on bond for two pending felony manufacture-delivery cases at the time of the alleged carjacking. He was accused of selling narcotics to undercover officers and having more than $21,000 worth of drugs in his possession when police arrested him on February 16.
Prosecutors said he was sentenced to two years for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in 2019. Burkhardt said he has juvenile convictions for possession of a stolen motor vehicle and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
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