Police are hoping that a new carjacking and robbery arrest will bring them closer to shutting down a group of criminals who have been working West Town and, possibly, other parts of the city.
Around 7:30 Saturday night, a woman was sitting in her Toyota SUV as it warmed up near the intersection of Wolcott and Ohio. That’s when a man opened her driver’s door and ordered her to get out. She pleaded with the man to leave her alone.
Instead, the man grabbed the woman, pulled her from the car, and beat her in her face and body with his fist, according to prosecutors. He reached over the woman and took the keys from the car’s ignition.
Meanwhile, another man opened the passenger door and took her purse, prosecutors said. Both offenders ran away when the woman began honking her horn and screaming for help.
Police searched the neighborhood for nearly an hour before they spotted a suspect sitting on the steps of a house. He ran, but police arrested him at a nearby McDonald’s.
Prosecutors on Monday charged that man, 18-year-old Tyrone Taylor, with attempted vehicular hijacking, robbery, and criminal trespass to land. They said Taylor was the robber who opened the car’s passenger door to take the woman’s purse. He allegedly admitted to the crime during an interview with police.
Taylor adjudicated delinquent as a juvenile twice in 2020 — once for armed robbery and one for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, prosecutors said.
Assistant Public Defender Suzin Farber said Taylor is a junior in high school and has a 1-year-old child.
Judge Maryam Ahmad set bail at $40,000. Taylor must post 10% of that amount and go on electronic monitoring to get out of jail.
Investigators are now working to determine if Taylor, who has a distinctive tattoo over his right eye, is responsible for other robberies or carjackings.