A 26-year-old man from downstate Ashton has been detained on a vehicular hijacking charge after prosecutors said he stole a Jeep Grand Cherokee from a Chicago man during what was supposed to be a Facebook Marketplace transaction.
Payden Allen turned himself in to CPD this week with the help of his attorney and invoked his right to remain silent, according to the police.
Prosecutors said Allen met a 24-year-old Chicago man on July 23 to buy the victim’s 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The men took the SUV for a test drive before Allen pulled over in the 6600 block of South Mozart Street to take a look under the hood, according to the allegations. As the men walked around the car, Allen allegedly shoved the victim aside, jumped into the Jeep, locked the doors, and drove off.
Investigators linked Allen to the hijacking through cellphone records, a CPD report said, and the victim later picked him out of a photo lineup.
Judge Shauna Boliker granted prosecutors’ request to detain Allen.
Chicago police have issued nearly a dozen community alerts this year warning residents about criminals using Facebook Marketplace to lure victims into robbery traps. Allen is at least the fourth person charged with robbing victims during social media transactions in the past month.
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