CHICAGO — A federal grand jury has indicted four Chicago men on carjacking, gun, and other charges for a string of robberies they allegedly committed last fall. Two of the men were previously charged in state court, and at least one of them recently served prison time for similar crimes.
Damandre Henley, 25, Dwight Hasberry, 29, Tyler Oates-Nelson, 27, and Devario McDowell, 21, are all charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, carjacking, interfering with commerce by force or threat, and gun charges. Cook County prosecutors charged Hasberry and Henley with some elements of the crimes in October.
The federal complaints accuse the men of carjacking a 21-year-old man late on September 28 in the 1400 block of West Erie. Chicago police said the victim was sitting in his black Volkswagen Tiguan when a group of masked men walked up to his car while brandishing firearms.
They ordered him out, and one of the men went through his pockets and found the victim’s handgun in a sweater pocket, police said. After losing his gun to the robbers, the man took his child from the back seat of his car before the hijackers drove away with it.
About 30 minutes later, the men arrived in the carjacked Volkswagen at 7-Eleven, 2900 West Montrose, officials said.
Henley, who was paroled in late August for two armed robberies, allegedly grabbed the store’s clerk by his shirt and took him to an office where he asked for money. But state prosecutors said the victim does not speak English well, and he tried to explain that there was no money in the office.
Henley tapped him on the forehead twice with a handgun, then led him to the register, state officials said. The clerk opened the registers as Henley and Hasberry held guns to him. Meanwhile, one of the other men loaded liquor and cigarettes into the bags and boxes.
Prosecutors said Henley then led the victim back to the office, where he pistol-whipped him, causing him to fall to the floor with a head wound.
About 20 minutes later, Chicago police located the hijacked Volkswagen on the West Side and took Henley and Hasberry into custody.
Federal records said the FBI suspects the four men were responsible for two more street robberies and six carjackings that day.
In 2018, Oates and another man were charged with robbing two 7-Eleven stores in Lincoln Park. At the time, Chicago police said the duo’s getaway car had been taken in an armed carjacking. A cop at the scene when Oates was arrested said the vehicle was “filled” with 7-Eleven merchandise. Oates pleaded guilty in 2019 and received two concurrent six-year sentences. He is still on parole for those convictions.
