A 17-year-old who shot a retired Chicago police officer during a carjacking attempt this week is on juvenile probation for carjacking—probation that he has twice violated by possessing stolen motor vehicles, according to prosecutors.
Mareon Jones was ordered held without bail on Tuesday afternoon by Judge Maryam Ahmad.
The 59-year-old retired cop was sitting in his Audi SUV in front of his home in the 3800 block of West Grenshaw on Sunday afternoon when Jones and another gunman arrived in a car driven by a third person, according to prosecutor Danny Hanichak.
Jones and the other passenger allegedly got out and pointed two short rifles at the victim, Hanichak said. The second gunman demanded the man’s money, then started to return to their car after the victim told him he didn’t have any.
The getaway car’s driver, however, instructed Jones and the other gunman to take the victim’s car, and Jones demanded the Audi’s keys at gunpoint, according to Hanichak.
The retired officer moved behind the Audi, drew his weapon, and opened fire on Jones, hitting him at least once. Jones ran back to the getaway car while firing at the victim as the second gunman opened fire from the vehicle, Hanichak said.
The victim, shot once in his abdomen and three times in the arm, underwent surgery and is expected to recover.
Jones was arrested shortly after the shooting when someone dropped him off at Loyola University Medical Center for treatment of gunshot wounds.
“This case could have easily been a murder… bullets were sprayed all over the area,” Hanichak told the judge.
Investigators found 35 shell casings at the scene, with about 15 found near where Jones allegedly fired. Two nearby homes were hit by gunfire.
In February 2020, Jones pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular hijacking and received a four-year probation sentence in juvenile court, Hanichak said. But Jones has been charged with felony possession of stolen motor vehicles twice since then, including once earlier this year.
Both stolen motor vehicle cases were dismissed after Jones pleaded guilty to a probation violation on March 30, according to Hanichak. Jones received a new four-year probation term at that time.
His public defender said he lives with his mother in Humboldt Park and is studying for his GED. Jones recently worked at a cafe in Evanston, the lawyer said.
Jones is now charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted vehicular hijacking with a firearm, aggravated battery with a firearm discharge, and aggravated discharge of a firearm.
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