Two teens charged in carjacking, murder of elderly man on Chicago's South Side
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two teenage boys have been charged in connection with the deadly carjacking of an 86-year-old man just steps from his Auburn Gresham home in September.
Charles Hobson Sr. was getting something out of his car when he was shot just before 10 a.m. on Sept. 23 in the 8100 block of South Throop Street.
Police said Hobson was found on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to the left thigh. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition and was later pronounced dead.
"Pretty much what we know is that my father-in-law came out of the house to come to his car to get his phone, and the next thing we know, he called his companion inside the house and said that he had been shot," his daughter-in-law, Kimberly Hobson-Gary, said on the day of the shooting.
Two boys, ages 15 and 16, were arrested on Thursday. The younger boy was charged with one count of first-degree murder, and the older boy was charged with one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking and one count of possession of a stolen vehicle.
Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti said it took diligence to track down the two teens.
"Our detectives worked tirelessly to gain the identity of the two responsible for this crime, and in doing so we worked with the team in order to locate them and take them into custody," she said. "This is just an example of how we will never forget our crime victims."
The two boys faced a Juvenile Court judge for the first time on Friday, and will be held in custody. They were due back in Juvenile Court on Dec. 4.
Hobson-Gary said her father-in-law lived on the 8100 block of South Throop Street for nearly 60 years, and was referred to as the neighborhood's grandfather.
"He was spunky. He was an awesome man of God. He's been in his home for probably nearly 58 years, and he was an entrepreneur; retired, of course, but an entrepreneur. He was a community man, and he just cared for others. He was very caring to other people, and so this is very devastating that this would happen to anyone, not just him," Hobson-Gary said.
His friendly nature left loved ones wondering why someone would do this.
"This is senseless. That's what we know. We do know that it was senseless. They did take his car. The car is back. It's torn in pieces, and he's no longer here, so we really don't know what the reason is," Hobson-Gary said.
"They had taken his vehicle, left, returned to the scene, and then got caught trying to get back into his house," said neighbor Tamika Wright.
CBS 2's Tara Molina has been tracking juvenile crime for years. According to the latest data on juvenile offenders from the Cook County State's Attorney's office, the number of charged carjacking cases has dropped from 215 in 2021 to 194 last year, and 149 so far this year. But armed robberies are way up, from 136 charged cases in 2021 to 281 so far this year.