A 19-year-old man is facing a stack of felony charges for allegedly lining up a car sale and turning it into a violent carjacking on the Northwest Side, sparking a wild police chase that ended with him crashing twice and hiding behind a tree.
Prosecutors said Armahn Johnson arranged to meet two men, ages 47 and 20, at a gas station in the 4000 block of North Laramie Avenue on August 5 under the guise of buying their black 2011 Infiniti G37. When they showed up, he allegedly pulled a gun and demanded the vehicle.
Helpfully, the gas station’s security cameras recorded the entire incident.
Using license plate readers, Chicago police and Illinois state troopers eventually found the hijacked car on the Dan Ryan Expressway. Johnson allegedly tried to shake troopers by speeding off the expressway, blowing red lights, and hitting 81 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone. The pursuit only ended after Johnson crashed through a fence near 40th and Michigan, then slammed into another obstacle near Garfield and State, a CPD report said.
A state trooper and Chicago cops chased Johnson on foot and found him hiding behind a tree, according to the report. Prosecutors said they found a loaded handgun in his backpack.
Judge Antonio Panici, Jr. granted the state’s petition to keep Johnson detained. He is charged with two counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking, two counts of aggravated possession of a weapon, and two counts of aggravated fleeing.
Chicago police have issued nearly a dozen community alerts this year warning residents about criminals using Facebook Marketplace to lure victims into robbery traps.
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