Chicago — Prosecutors say a would-be carjacker failed to get away with the victim’s car because he didn’t know how to drive a stick shift. Chicago cops were able to track him down because he ran from the scene with the victim’s keys, which had an AirTag attached.
Andrew Moran, 25, was charged with vehicular hijacking and aggravated battery of peace officers during a court hearing on Saturday afternoon. Judge Charles Beach ordered him to pay a $15,000 bail deposit to be released on electronic monitoring.
Moran allegedly knocked on the victim’s driver’s side door as she sat in the parking lot of a strip mall in the 4800 block of North Milwaukee around 12:25 p.m. Friday.
Holding his left hand in his jacket pocket, Moran told the victim to get out because he “needed” to take the car because someone would kill him if he didn’t, prosecutors said. The woman, believing Moran had a gun in his jacket pocket, got out and called the police from a nearby store.
While she called for help, Moran struggled to get her Audi A3 moving because he didn’t know how to drive a stick shift, according to prosecutors. He gave up and ran away as police sirens grew louder. Prosecutors said surveillance cameras recorded the carjacking attempt.
Cops tracking the woman’s key fob realized it was traveling along the Blue Line. Officers intercepted an inbound train at the Addison station and arrested Moran. They said they found the woman’s key fob on the train car, and another passenger allegedly told them Moran dropped it as they arrived at the scene.
Prosecutors also accused Moran of spitting in an officer’s face and kicking other cops during his arrest and at the police station.
His public defender said he has three children and may be experiencing mental health issues after recent head surgery.
