When Chicago police announced on Friday that an 18-year-old man had been charged with the murder of Lyft driver Adriana Arocha-Duque at Christmastime 2023, it marked just the latest chapter in an extraordinary tale of how much harm a small group of violent young men can inflict.
So far, three men have been charged in connection with Arocha-Duque’s death. A fourth would be facing charges too, a law enforcement source said, if he had not been shot and killed earlier this year when he tried to rob a concealed carry holder in Humboldt Park. And one of the men previously charged with Arocha-Duque’s murder is also accused of killing another rideshare driver just three weeks before her death.
The accused
On Friday, prosecutors charged 18-year-old Derrius Young with participating in Arocha-Duque’s December 26, 2023, killing. Last month, prosecutors charged two others with her murder: 18-year-old Antwon Conyears and 30-year-old Kameron Freeman.
Freeman was charged in June 2024 with murdering another rideshare driver, 29-year-old Uber driver Mohammed Al Hijoj, on December 3, 2023.
During hearings for Freeman and Conyears last month, prosecutors identified the fourth member of the robbery crew as 18-year-old Daone Feazell.
On June 10 of this year, investigators believe, Feazell hijacked a car and robbed two people before he unwisely tried to rob a concealed carry holder in the 1400 block of North Artesian. The CCL holder drew his weapon and shot Feazell dead.
The murder of Adriana Arocha-Duque
Arocha-Duque, 34, was one of at least seven rideshare drivers targeted in robberies and shootings on the Near West Side during December 2023. She and Al Hijoj were the only two killed.
Prosecutors say the night of Arocha-Duque’s death began when Young coordinated the crime with Feazall using an iCloud account that belonged to someone who had been robbed the day before, prosecutors said. Feazell allegedly sent Young a Google Street View image of a cul-de-sac in the 4800 block of West Thomas and noted the lack of cameras. He also said the group could hide at his nearby apartment after the crime.
Around 8:30 p.m., Arocha-Duque picked up the group in her Chevrolet Suburban in the 2100 block of North Leamington. Surveillance video captured the SUV pulling onto West Thomas, suddenly braking, then lurching forward into a parked car. Prosecutors said one of the passengers had just shot her in the back of the head.
The four offenders fled to Feazell’s apartment, prosecutors believe. One was seen carrying a gun. Investigators later found a spent shell casing inside the SUV and a vape cartridge that allegedly tested positive for Freeman’s DNA.
Executing a search warrant at Conyears’ home, police also recovered a shredder filled with documents linked to other robberies, according to prosecutors. They said he had 14 juvenile adjudications, including an attempted murder, two carjackings, and 11 armed robberies.
Conyears, Freeman, and Young have all been detained on charges including murder, armed robbery, and unlawful restraint.
Freeman’s other murder allegation
Barely a month after a judge removed an ankle monitor Freeman had been wearing while awaiting trial on a stolen SUV charge, prosecutors say he and others lured Uber driver Al Hijoj into a deadly ambush. Al Hijoj, a 39-year-old father working toward a doctorate while running his own limousine company, was shot multiple times in his Cadillac Escalade on December 3, 2023.
He had immigrated from Jordan 15 years earlier. Prosecutors said one of Freeman’s accomplices in that murder, 18-year-old Zayin Kelly, accidentally shot himself and dropped the murder weapon as they all fled the limo.
Days later, Freeman pleaded guilty in his stolen car case, receiving probation with an order to get a GED. Rather than doing that, prosecutors say, he helped murder Arocha-Duque.
More to come?
Prosecutors suggested during court hearings for the three accused men that at least two other people may have been involved in the events culminating in Arocha-Duque’s death. It is unclear if additional charges will follow.
For now, three alleged crew members sit in detention, one is dead, and two rideshare drivers are also gone — stark evidence of how much destruction a small group of repeat offenders is capable of dishing out.
This story is based on court proceeding transcripts purchased through CWBChicago’s courtroom transparency fund.
