A Chicago man who is awaiting trial for two armed robberies and a separate felony gun case left his home while on electronic monitoring to carjack a woman at gunpoint on Halloween, prosecutors said Tuesday.
But, because the man was not away from his home for more than 48 hours, he cannot be charged with escaping electronic monitoring under Illinois’ new criminal justice reform law.
Class X vehicular hijacking charges were filed against Peter Andrews just days before Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart will conduct a Zoom meeting, moderated by State Senator Sara Feigenholtz (6th), called “Straight Talk on Electronic Monitoring.”
Promotional materials for the event list four state politicians as hosts: Sen. Rob Martwick (10th); Rep. Ann Williams (11th); Rep. Margaret Croke (12th); and Rep. Jaime Andrade Jr (40th).
Feigenholtz, Martwick, Williams, and Croke all voted in favor of the new law that decriminalized electronic monitoring absences of less than 48 hours. Andrade did not vote on the legislation.
In addition to removing penalties for electronic monitoring violations of less than two days, the legislators also granted people on electronic monitoring permission to leave their homes two days a week to complete tasks.
In the spirit of straight talk, for the next week, we will be posting one story a day about recent crimes allegedly committed by people while they were on electronic monitoring.
If you’d like to participate in Dart’s “Straight Talk” session, RSVP here.
2 robberies, a gun, and now a carjacking
In 2017, Peter Andrews and another man pulled out handguns and robbed a group of landscapers of jewelry, watches, and cash in Calumet City, according to prosecutors and court records.
That same day, he flagged down a bicyclist in Calumet City and pulled the victim from his bike, Assistant State’s Attorney Loukas Kalliantasis said as he recounted details of Andrews’ pending cases Tuesday.
Andrews, 23, put the bicyclist in a chokehold and went through the victim’s pockets while his accomplice held a gun to the man’s head, Kalliantasis said. They allegedly got away with $20.
Warrants were issued for his arrest in both cases on August 18, 2017.
The long arm of the law caught up with Andrews two years later when Chicago police allegedly caught him carrying a gun on a South Side street. Prosecutors charged him with felony unlawful use of a weapon and the two 2017 robberies the next day. He later posted bond and went home on electronic monitoring.
He was still on electronic monitoring when he allegedly left his home and carjacked a 51-year-old North Carolina woman in the South Shore neighborhood on Halloween afternoon.
Kalliantasis said the woman was trying to park her Dodge Charger when an SUV pulled up next to her, and two men got out to confront her. One of the men pointed a handgun at the woman, took her keys, and got into the driver’s seat.
The other man, allegedly Andrews, climbed into the Charger’s passenger seat, and the victim got a good look at his face, Kalliantasis said. She warned the men that her car had a theft tracker, but they didn’t seem to mind. They drove away with her vehicle.
Police activated the car’s tracking system and found it parked outside Andrews’ home, Kalliantasis said. They also learned that Andrews was on electronic monitoring, so they acquired his ankle monitor’s GPS records.
According to Kalliantasis, the ankle monitor left his home right before the hijacking, pinged within a block of the crime scene, then returned to Andrews’ home.
The hijacking victim also identified Andrews in a photo line-up, Kalliantasis said.
Judge Maryam Ahmad granted a state request to hold Andrews without bail on the hijacking charge. She also held him without bail for violating the bond terms in his three pending felony cases.
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