No bond for 2 men charged in violent Chicago carjacking caught on camera
CHICAGO (CBS) – A judge ordered no bond for either man charged in connection with a Beverly carjacking that was caught on Ring camera video.
CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey had the latest from court, where prosecutors said the recordings and surveillance video were key to bringing charges.
The attack was caught on camera, but identifying the suspects in the video was the real challenge for investigators. Prosecutors said the 26-year-old suspect identified himself in surveillance video, and the 20-year-old suspect was identified by his own father.
"It felt good to look at them in the eye and just let them know that somebody's gonna stand up to them," said Jeff Pettiford, whose wife, Michele, was with their 12-year-old daughter when they were ambushed in their driveway and ordered to the ground at gunpoint on Nov. 2.
Pettiford was joined by a large group of friends and supporters in court on Thursday.
He was also held at gunpoint before the men took off with his Audi and the keys to his Range Rover, which was then stolen off the street 12 days later.
Pettiford said his daughter said, "'Dad, you said they weren't going to come back, but they came back.' That was a difficult, difficult conversation to have with a 12-year-old girl."
He added, "and then she said, 'I want them to know I'm standing up to them.'"
Prosecutors said the two men in the video were Damarri Conner, 20, and Kenneth Merritt, 26. Both men were caught on CTA surveillance video in the same area and were wearing the same clothes as they wore during the attack. On the same day, prosecutors said the men also used Pettiford's stolen credit card at a gas station.
When Merritt met with his parole officer on Nov. 14, he was confronted with the surveillance photos, and prosecutors said he admitted he was at the crime scene and "He was sorry that it got out of hand."
Later that day, the couple's Range Rover was stolen from the street outside their home and was followed closely by a black Lincoln, which led detectives to a house where Conner was hiding in a closet.
Investigators said Conner's father identified his son from the surveillance photos, and he was taken into custody after resisting arrest.
Conner was already out on bond for a May case involving the unlawful use of a weapon. Merritt was still on probation after a 10-year stint in prison for armed robbery.