A 71-year-old woman fought off a suburban man who tried to carjack her in the parking lot of a Northwest Side grocery store Wednesday evening, prosecutors said. And when an off-duty cop intervened, the seven-time felon allegedly claimed that the woman was his own mother.
The snappy septuagenarian quickly dispelled that claim and the officer detained Daniel Gilardon, 47, until on-duty police arrived, Assistant State’s Attorney Loukas Kalliantasis said.
According to police and prosecutors, the woman was sitting in the driver’s seat of her car on the Jewel-Osco parking lot, 4743 North Cumberland, at 5:29 p.m. when Gilardon opened her door and tried to take her keys from the ignition.
He punched, kicked, and pulled on the woman to get her out of the car, but she fought back, secured her keys, and screamed for help, Kalliantasis said. That captured the attention of the off-duty officer, who stepped in and identified himself as a cop.
Gilardon allegedly claimed that he and his “mother” were “arguing over a jacket,” Kalliantasis said. That story didn’t fly.
According to Kalliantasis, Jewel’s security cameras recorded the entire episode.
Gilardon’s felony convictions include three burglaries and two thefts, Kalliantasis said. He had an active arrest warrant for residential burglary in the suburbs, too.
Judge David Navarro said Gilardon must pay a $25,000 deposit toward his $250,000 bail to get out of jail on charges of attempted vehicular hijacking. Separately, the judge ordered him held without bail on the burglary warrant.