CHICAGO — A 14-year-old boy is charged with murdering a man during an attempted carjacking this summer while he already had at least one case pending in juvenile court, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Prosecutors charged the teen in juvenile court, so his identity will likely never be known publicly. However, a well-established source verified the details of this story.
The boy was charged with 14 felonies this summer for his role in a robbery and carjacking spree that swept from Lakeview to the West Loop on July 14.
He was part of a group that carjacked and robbed four people in the 1900 block of West Irving Park around 5:40 a.m. that morning, according to CPD. As we reported, a carjacker driving a white car pulled in front of the victim’s Mazda CX3 to block their path, and two gunmen got out, took the victims’ valuables, and then drove away with the Mazda. CPD said the victims were two 22-year-old men and a man and a woman who were both 21.
About an hour later, the boy and his accomplices carjacked and robbed two victims in the 300 block of West Belmont, not far from Belmont Harbor. Two men with guns robbed the couple, a 31-year-old woman and a 34-year-old man, and drove away with their blue BMW X3. A third robber remained in the previously hijacked Mazda, according to initial information.
CPD said the boy also participated in the attempted carjacking of a 55-year-old woman in the 1100 block of West Jackson on June 27 and stole a vehicle on July 12.
Now, our source confirms, that same boy was the subject of another CPD media alert announcing charges in a murder and carjacking attempt on July 14.
At the time, CPD said two people got out of a gray car and approached the 25-year-old man in the 5400 block of South Wells. After a short interaction, the 14-year-old opened fire, killing the man, according to the charges. The shooting occurred during a carjacking attempt.
ABC7 identified the victim as Michal Ciskal, a Polish immigrant who was on his way to work.
Prosecutors have added first-degree murder, murder, murder during the commission of a forcible felony and attempted aggravated vehicular hijacking to the list of charges against the boy.
The boy had an active warrant pending for a felony juvenile matter when he allegedly went on the July 14 spree.
He is the 28th person accused of killing or shooting—or trying to kill or shoot—someone in Chicago this year while having a felony case pending. The cases involve 43 victims, 10 of whom died.
The “not horrible” series
This report continues our coverage of individuals accused of killing, shooting, or trying to kill or shoot others on pretrial release for a felony allegation. CWBChicago began our series of reports in November 2019 after Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans publicly stated, “We haven’t had any horrible incidents occur” under the court’s bond reform initiative.
On September 18, 2023, Illinois eliminated cash bail entirely. Our “not horrible” continues.
The actual number of murders and shootings committed by people awaiting trial for felony allegations is undoubtedly much higher than the numbers seen here. Since 2017, CPD has brought charges in less than 5% of non-fatal shootings and 33% of murders, according to the city’s data.
