Two men charged in Chicago carjacking spree
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two men were facing multiple charges after a carjacking spree Tuesday night in the Gold Coast neighborhood.
Charles Benson, 20, has been charged with two counts of attempted aggravated vehicular hijacking, one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking, one count of armed robbery, one count of aggravated battery, one count of possession of a stolen vehicle, two counts of aggravated fleeing, and one count of resisting arrest.
Demontae Watkins, 18, has been charged with two counts of attempted aggravated vehicular hijacking, one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking, one count of armed robbery, one count of aggravated battery, one count of unlawful use of a weapon, one count of criminal trespass to a vehicle, and one count of resisting arrest.
Police said the crime spree started around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, when they tried to steal a woman's Toyota RAV4 in the 1500 block of North State Parkway – between North Boulevard and Burton Place. Police said the offenders pushed her to the ground and kicked her in the face before a passing vehicle scared them off.
The pair then carjacked a 33-year-old food delivery driver at gunpoint near Inner Lake Shore Drive and Bellevue Place. They approached him on foot and pulled a gun on him before stealing his 2019 Nissan Sentra, police said.
Officers said the same perpetrators then tried to steal another vehicle in Gold Coast, this time in the 1400 block of North Astor Street – about two blocks from the site of the first crime. At 7:39 p.m., a 41-year-old man was sitting in his 2008 Audi sedan at the intersection, when the armed men got in the car and demanded his wallet, police said.
The carjackers fired a gun, and the victim handed over his wallet, but the suspects couldn't drive away in his car, because it had a manual transmission. They got back into the stolen Sentra and drove off, at one point reaching speeds of 90 mph as they fled down the Dan Ryan Expressway.
Police were able to track them to West Englewood, where they ditched the stolen delivery driver's car on 70th Street between Wood Street and Hermitage Avenue.
An Illinois State Police K-9 helped police find Watkins lying in nearby bushes, with a handgun at his feet, and an ammo clip 4 to 5 feet away. Police found Benson hiding under a nearby stairwell.
Watkins and Benson were due to appear for detention hearings on Wednesday.
