Two Charged With Shooting Addison Woman, 2 Daughters In Hammond
HAMMOND, Ind. (STMW) -- Two men have been charged with shooting an Addison woman and her two daughters who drove to Hammond to purchase cell phones on Sunday morning.
Alan Lavelle Ross, Jr., 17, of Hammond, and Joseph Alonzo Pleasure, 20, of East Chicago, are each charged with three counts of attempted murder, three counts of aggravated battery, three counts of battery resulting in serious bodily injury, one count of attempted robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, and one count of attempted armed robbery, according to Hammond police.
The 41-year-old woman drove to Hammond to purchase cell phones from a person she had communicated with on Facebook named "Cashin Out Joe," according to the affidavit.
She brought her daughters — ages 15 and 12 — with her to the 900 block of Highland Street in Indiana about 11:20 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.
The person on Facebook advised her to pull into an alley, but when the woman saw two men walking up behind her vehicle she started to pull away, according to the affidavit.
One man shouted, "Stop, I have your phone," police said. The second man appeared next to her car and demanded her money before shooting at her, then walking to the other side of the car to shoot at her daughters.
The woman drove away to look for help after the shooting, according to the affidavit.
The two girls were taken to University of Chicago hospital in critical condition, police said. The mother was taken to a local hospital with injuries that weren't life-threatening.
As of Wednesday afternoon, all three were still recovering from their injuries, police said.
Police tracked Pleasure down through his Facebook account under the name "Cashin Out Jo," according to the affidavit.
The woman later identified Ross in a photograph as the shooter, and Pleasure as the other suspect, the affidavit said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)