CHICAGO — Two boys, ages 15 and 16, are charged in connection with dozens of armed robberies and carjackings reported across the city during late March, Chicago police said.
CPD’s vehicular hijacking task force arrested both teens Wednesday morning in the 1100 block of South Hamilton, which is where the Cook County Juvenile Justice Center is located. That suggests they have other active criminal matters.
Both boys are charged with possessing a stolen motor vehicle taken from a 53-year-old man in West Town on March 24.
That night, they went on a crime spree across West Town, police said. They are charged with:
- battering a 50-year-old man in the 1300 block of West Hubbard at 7:25 p.m.
- carjacking a 42-year-old man at gunpoint in the 2300 block of West Taylor at 10:30 p.m.
- robbed a 22-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman in the 1700 block of West Superior around 11:33 p.m.
- possessed a car stolen from a 31-year-old man in West Town
Police said the younger boy is also charged with even more crimes committed during a three-hour spree that stretched from River North to the West Loop and Near West Side.
The incidents began around 3:45 a.m. in the 700 block of North Hudson in River North. A 55-year-old man told police he was walking when a dark sedan rolled up near him, and three gunmen got out to demand his property, a Chicago police spokesperson said at the time.
Just a couple of blocks away, at nearly the same time, two men stole a black Toyota Corolla from the 200 block of West Erie. The CPD spokesperson said a 23-year-old woman was standing beside her idling car when two men jumped in and drove it away. Her vehicle was used in subsequent robberies, according to police records.
Two men, ages 57 and 51, were walking in the 700 block of West Jackson when two cars carrying about eight people pulled up, and two men got out of one vehicle with a gun. Police said the offenders took the victims’ property, struck the younger man in the face, and drove away.
A 69-year-old man was robbed in the 800 block of North Wolcott around 4:20 a.m. Police said four men stepped out of a gray sedan, displayed a gun, pushed the victim to the ground, and took his property.
At 4:40 a.m., a silver sedan pulled up next to a 34-year-old man sitting in his car in the 1500 block of North Talman. Four robbers got out, displayed guns, and took his money and personal items, according to CPD. Investigators determined that the getaway car had a specific Ohio license plate number, a CPD report said. The vehicle was later recovered near the previously stolen Toyota and a third stolen car.
Within minutes, the car with Ohio plates pulled up next to a 45-year-old man who was inside his vehicle in the 1600 block of North Talman. Four men got out, displayed guns, and took his property.
At 5 a.m., three men exited a gray sedan, chased a 22-year-old man, and pushed him to the ground in the 1600 block of North Leavitt, police said. They robbed him and fled the scene.
About four minutes later, they robbed a 32-year-old man at gunpoint in the 1300 block of North Rockwell.
The robberies resumed at 6:33 a.m. in the 1500 block of West Monroe. Police said a 32-year-old woman left her Acura LX running while she made a delivery, but a man was in the car’s driver’s seat when she returned. After failing to steal the car, he took the woman’s purse and fled in a silver sedan waiting nearby, the police said.
Most recently, a construction worker was carjacked of his SUV in the 200 block of North Elizabeth and struck the victim with the car as they drove it away. A fire department ambulance arrived at the scene, but the man reportedly decided to have a friend take him to a hospital instead. His injuries were not considered life-threatening.
Shortly after the hijacking, police searching an area where stolen and carjacked vehicles are frequently recovered found the stolen vehicle with Ohio plates in traffic. Officers arrested two males who ran from the car after it stopped in the 1000 block of South Campbell. Nearby, they found the Toyota that was taken in River North. And, one block south, they found the freshly-hijacked SUV.