A woman from suburban Summit is accused of orchestrating an armed carjacking in Chicago Lawn by luring her victim through Instagram and enlisting two juveniles to help carry out the crime.
In a detention petition, prosecutors said Sara Antunez, 18, met a 28-year-old man from Addison on Instagram and arranged to meet him in the 6300 block of South Albany around 7:30 p.m. on July 30. The man brought his 27-year-old cousin with him in a Buick sedan.
When the men arrived, Antunez allegedly came out of a nearby residence, then went back inside to get a phone charger. Instead of returning with a phone charger, prosecutors said, she returned with two juvenile males wearing ski masks.
The three approached the driver’s side of the Buick, and one of the boys pointed a gun at the victim’s head. “Get the f— out of the car,” the gunman allegedly ordered, warning, “I’m not playin’ with you, I’ll shoot you.”
Both victims complied. The armed teen allegedly took the driver’s wallet and phone before all three hijackers climbed into the Buick and drove off. The victim used his cousin’s phone to call 911.
The next day, Chicago police surveillance officers spotted the stolen Buick stuck in traffic near the 3600 block of West 63rd Street and called in enforcement officers to stop the vehicle. When police approached, Antunez and the two juveniles allegedly bolted from the car, but officers caught all three within a half-block.
Investigators found a defaced 9mm handgun on the front passenger floorboard where one of the juveniles had been sitting, prosecutors said. Its serial number had been obliterated.
Both victims later identified Antunez in photo line-ups, and CPD investigators matched her appearance to the profile photo on the Instagram account that lured the victims into the ambush.
Judge James Costello granted prosecutors’ request to detain Antunez, noting that she “deployed two juveniles in her scheme” and “made admissions” to police. The juveniles are being charged in juvenile court.
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