A Chicago man who was arrested late last month after allegedly running from police with a gun is now accused of robbing and carjacking a man with a machine gun just three weeks later.
Chicago police arrested 23-year-old Donnell Melvin around 9:15 p.m. on July 31 in the 700 block of East 63rd Street. A CPD report says officers saw Melvin walking with a gun in his waistband, so they tried to stop him. Melvin ran while clutching his waist, then hid behind a trash can, the report said. Officers found him there and allegedly located a loaded pistol on the other side of a fence behind him. The opposite side of that fence, police noted, was a daycare center.
Melvin was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and released from custody the following day.
Exactly 20 days later, around noon on August 20, Melvin resurfaced in Countryside. Armed with another gun, this one fitted with a switch to make it fully automatic, Melvin and 18-year-old Soee Williams robbed and carjacked a man of a Jeep Cherokee at a BP station in the suburb, prosecutors said.
According to The Patch, officers quickly located the SUV, chased it onto an Interstate 294 ramp, and watched as it crashed. One suspect was arrested on the spot while the other ran into nearby woods, sparking a manhunt involving multiple agencies, the outlet reported.
Melvin and Williams are charged with aggravated vehicular hijacking and armed robbery with a firearm. Melvin also faces a charge of possessing a machine gun. Judge Mohammed Ghouse ordered both men detained.
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