A 24-year-old woman was choked and carjacked as she walked to her vehicle inside a West Loop parking garage Friday morning. Chicago police said a man confronted the woman and demanded her property inside the Presidential Towers parking garage, 32 South Jefferson, around 6:35 a.m.
A police spokesperson said that she refused to cooperate with the robber, but two more offenders appeared and a “physical altercation ensued.” According to a CPD report, the woman was choked by one of the robbers.
The group eventually gained control of the woman’s property and fled in her Subaru. She described them as three Black males between 15- and 17-years-old who wore dark clothing, an officer at the scene said. The victim declined medical attention.
Chicago police handled 16 carjackings in the West Loop during the first six months of this year, up from 12 during the period last year, nine in the first half of 2020, and three as of June 30, 2019.
The city had 167 carjackings last month, up 11% from last July. There were 149 cases in July 2020 and 53 in July 2019.
City records show that Chicago police have made arrests in slightly less than 7% of this year’s hijackings. The arrest rate for 2021 carjackings is 13%. It’s important to note that arrest rates for previous years are typically higher than current periods because police have had more time to identify offenders and secure charges from the state’s attorney’s office.
In 2021, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges in 75% of the carjacking cases that Chicago police brought in, according to the prosecutor’s office data.