Bucktown Carjacking Victim Can't Believe 2 People Police Found With Her Car Are Now Free
UPDATED: 08/12/21 6:48 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman spoke only to CBS 2 earlier this week after she was carjacked in broad daylight outside her home in Bucktown.
As CBS 2's Tara Molina reported Wednesday, police tracked down the woman's car with two people inside. But both were back on the street hours later – and we asked why.
We first introduced you to the woman, Mar, on Tuesday - hours after she was carjacked at gunpoint, in the middle of the day, while inside her Bucktown garage.
"I think the message is, you can never be safe. Ever," Mar said Tuesday.
A day later, there was an update on her case.
"I'm pretty angry today about the whole thing," Mar said.
She got her car back, but it was not in good shape.
"A mess. The entire back fender is off. The lights are off," Mar said. "It's going to cost me."
But it's much more than damage that has her fired up. Mar said police found her car late Tuesday heading wrong way down the street.
Police said the car was found in the 3900 block of West Van Buren Street in West Garfield Park around 10:50 p.m. When the two males inside saw police, Mar says police told her they drove into the cruiser – and one took off.
"The second person got away," Mar said, "and from what the police tell me, they are absolutely not allowed to pursue on foot or in cars."
The driver was 15 years old, police said.
"They arrested him around 11 p.m. last night, but he was released to a guardian at 1 o'clock this morning," Mar said.
The teen was in custody for two hours. She says she couldn't believe it, and still can't.
"I get it that they're young," Mar said, "but they're also bold enough to put a gun against my head."
We know juveniles are behind many of the growing number of carjackings in Chicago. It is something we've been trying to put a number on - but because they're underage, we've had to file public records requests to get the data.
"I hate the thought that this is going to be done to someone else," Mar said.
And Mar said based on the past 48 hours, it will happen to someone else – and that's only going to change when something does at the city level.
"They know they can get away with it, so they're going to keep doing it," Mar said. "So I would love to see a stronger, more consistent message so that we as citizens feel safe."
She wants to see a stronger, more consistent message from everyone involved in making a difference. We reached Mayor Lori Lightfoot's office with a request on this and heard nothing back.
Meanwhile, police Supt. David Brown consistently points the finger at the Cook County State's Attorney's office and how they're handling charges in cases like this. Molina reached out to the State's Attorney's office with a request on carjackings involving juveniles and then followed up with details about this case, specifically.
UPDATE: The Cook County State's Attorney's office said the 15-year-old suspect who was apprehended appeared in Juvenile Court on Wednesday and was ordered held in custody by a judge. The teen remained in custody at the county Juvenile Temporary Detention Center as of Thursday.
Prosecutors said there will be another court hearing in the case on Monday, and they are reviewing the case with police to determine whether additional charges are warranted.
