Teens charged in recent Chicago carjackings, robberies as disturbing trend continues
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Teenagers have been arrested and charged in everything from armed robbery to armed carjacking - with a number of charges announced this week.
CBS 2's Tara Molina took a closer look Tuesday at the crimes - and what is being done to keep the youngest accused offenders in Chicago from getting charged again.
Some of the arrests were connected to a recent carjacking spree, which hit River North, the Gold Coast, and West Town. Authorities said three teenagers were behind it, and they were all facing felony charges Tuesday.
Police said four victims were targeted by the same crew of 16- and 17-year-olds in the past week. The 16-year-old and two 17-year-olds are charged in carjackings on Wednesday of last week in the 300 block of West Chicago Avenue, and this past Friday in the 1400 block of North Dearborn Parkway, the 400 block of North Armour Street, and the 1400 block of West Division Street.
The names and faces of the teens have not been released because they are underage. But they are all facing felony charges of aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm. They are also facing weapons charges, and counts of either possession of a stolen motor vehicle or criminal trespass to a vehicle.
And they're not alone. A 14-year-old was also charged Tuesday in an armed robbery in the Back of the Yards last week.
Police said around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday of last week, the 14-year-old held up another 14-year-old boy at gunpoint in the 1100 block of West 50th Street.
Meanwhile, a 16-year-old boy was charged in a carjacking in Brighton Park. Back on Friday, Dec. 2 at 5:56 p.m., the 16-year-old took a vehicle at gunpoint from a 31-year-old woman in the 4400 block of South Albany Avenue.
With more and more juveniles accused of violent crime here in Chicago, we turned to the agency with whom these five will take their next steps - the Cook County Juvenile Probation Department.
Molina caught up Tuesday with the acting director of the department and two probation officers.
"The current spike in crimes - particularly vehicular hijacking - it's a phenomenon that we're all trying to understand," said Miquel A. Lewis, acting director of probation and court services for the Cook County Juvenile Probation Department.
Lewis was not speaking specifically to these recent cases, but to issues involving minors overall - and what those next steps look like.
"More of them than fewer of them do not commit subsequent offenses," Lewis said.
Juvenile probation officer Bonni Bohl explained what the next steps look like for probation officers.
"A lot of these young people really need a lot of structure," Bohl said.
That can mean providing teens a different community or a different path.
"I think mostly our kids are misunderstood," said juvenile probation officer Kenny Olins. "A lot of people hear things from the outside looking in. We are out in the communities, and we see them for who they really are – they are young children. Any children need attention; want attention."
The goal is to keep those charged with violent crimes from being charged with more.
"We get them engaged in structured supportive services sooner over later, and that's one of the ways that the court has responded to what we're seeing in this moment is to be really quick to get young people engaged," Lewis said.
If proper guidance can change young people's behavior, Lewis explained, the hope is those young people won't pick up guns.
"Firearms are becoming more and more easily accessible, and unfortunately they're becoming more accessible to our youngest and most vulnerable," he said.
Lewis emphasized that the foundation of probation officers' role is to build a trusting relationship with young people – a point reiterated by Bohl and Olins.
"A lot of these young people have experienced a lot of trauma, and I don't think a lot of people recognize that," Bohl said. "These are real children that have really seen too much."
"As probation officers, it is our job to provide that source of community interaction. Whether it be taking the young folks out for a bite to eat – something they're not used to," added Olins. "It's just a matter of what kind of attention we provide to them that's going to alter their mind or their thinking."
Chicago Police wouldn't tell us if teens are also believed to be behind the spike in burglaries we've been tracking since Christmas.