Teens Charged With Stealing Car at Gunpoint, Leading Cops on High-Speed Chase in Carol Stream

Prosecutors in suburban Carol Stream say that two teens stole a car at gunpoint from a strip mall and led police on a high-speed chase before abandoning the vehicle and fleeing into a crowded park.

According to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office, the teens, who are both from Chicago, have been charged with multiple felonies in connection with the robbery, which occurred Friday at a strip mall in the 200 block of West Army Trail Road.

Police say that the victim was standing outside of his car, a Dodge Challenger Hellcat, just before 7 p.m. when two minors, a boy and a girl, approached him.

One of the teens pulled out a weapon and pushed the barrel into the victim’s side. The other teen tried to grab the victim’s keys from his pocket, but was unsuccessful, and the victim ultimately gave the key fob to one of the assailants.

The two teens then got into the car, and a short time later, Carol Stream police officers located the vehicle on Army Trail Road. At that point, the teens began to flee officers at a high rate of speed, hitting approximately 140 miles per hour on Interstate 355.

Officers say the teens then abandoned the vehicle just north of Butterfield Road, and fled into a crowded park in suburban Lombard.

Police were able to locate the teens in the crowd and took both into custody. Officers say they recovered a handgun and the key fob to the vehicle when they made the arrest.

“The allegations against these two juveniles are outrageous,” State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. “Not only did these two juveniles allegedly hijack a man’s car at gunpoint, but they proceeded to lead police on a high-speed chase, then abandoned the car and fled on foot in a crowded park while armed with a deadly weapon. This type of violent behavior and complete and utter disregard for public safety will most certainly not be tolerated in DuPage County.”

The teens are scheduled to appear in court Monday. Both face charges of aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm, two counts of aggravated possession of a motor vehicle, and one count of aggravated fleeing from a police officer, all of which are felonies.

from NBC Chicago https://ift.tt/1lKug9X