Chicago — Two men accused of robbing four victims at gunpoint in River North on Sunday evening have extensive juvenile records, including allegations of carjacking and gun possession, prosecutors said during a Tuesday afternoon bond hearing.
Judge Kelly McCarthy ordered Marques Williams and Terrion Jackson, both 18, held without bail at the state’s request. Two unidentified 17-year-old boys are also charged with the crimes.
A little after 10 p.m. Sunday, Chicago police and other law enforcement agencies were tracking a stolen Jeep Compass that Park Ridge police believed was used by a group of robbers who mugged two people outside a Mariano’s in their town, officials said. Des Plaines police also believe the Jeep’s occupants robbed two men in the parking lot of Rivers Casino the same evening.
Even though police were tracking the Jeep as it traveled through River North, the occupants managed to get out and rob four more people, according to prosecutor Sarah Dale-Schmidt.
When the Jeep reached the 500 block of West Chicago Avenue, its driver made a wide turn and pulled up between four men who were about to enter a parked car, Dale-Schmidt said. Four people hopped out of the Jeep, and each pointed a gun at one of the victims and took their valuables.
The victims noted the Jeep’s license plate number as the crew drove away.
Moments later, police stopped the Jeep in the 700 block of North Michigan Avenue. Four people ran from the SUV, and all were caught nearby, according to Dale-Schmidt. Williams allegedly tossed a firearm before cops arrested him, and Jackson dumped some phones, she said. A second gun was found inside the Jeep, which had been stolen earlier Sunday from the 400 block of North State.
Around the same time, the robbery victims pulled up to a Chicago police officer to report what had happened to them, and they provided the cop with the license plate number they had written down. It matched the Jeep that Williams, Jackson, and the two juveniles ran from, according to Dale-Schmidt.
While neither Jackson nor Williams has any adult criminal convictions, they do have significant juvenile backgrounds, according to Dale-Schmidt.
Jackson has three pending juvenile cases: one for carjacking and two for illegal gun possession, one from 2022 and the other from 2021.
Williams had an outstanding juvenile arrest warrant from McHenry County and had a pending carjacking case in Chicago. Dale-Schmidt said he was adjudicated delinquent as a juvenile for illegal gun possession in 2019 and again in 2020. He was also found guilty of criminal trespass to a vehicle in 2019.
Assistant Public Defender Catherine Stockslager said both men are expecting children with their girlfriends. They are both unemployed. She said Williams regularly attends church and plans to re-enroll in high school. Jackson is taking GED classes, mentoring youth basketball, and attending church twice a week at St. Sabina Catholic Church, Stockslager said.
Park Ridge and Des Plaines authorities continue to investigate the robberies in their towns. No charges had been filed against Williams or Jackson in connection with those holdups as of Tuesday afternoon.
Both men are charged with four counts of armed robbery with a firearm and criminal trespass to a vehicle. Williams is also charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.