Man Charged In Two November Carjackings In Lawndale
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An 18-year-old man has been charged in connection with a carjacking and an attempted carjacking in November in the Lawndale neighborhood.
Anthony Blackburn, of the West Garfield Park neighborhood, has been charged with two counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking, one count of attempted aggravated vehicular hijacking, and one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm.
Police said Blackburn was arrested Monday morning after he was identified as a person who took part in an armed carjacking of two men and the attempted carjacking of a third man on the same day in November on the 4700 block of West Polk Street.
Blackburn had been in custody at the Cook County Jail since mid-January on a separate drug charge, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County Sheriff's office.
A Cook County judge denied Blackburn bail at bond hearing Wednesday afternoon.
Blackburn's defense attorney said he is in the 11th grade at John Marshall Metropolitan High School, and works at a McDonald's in Woodridge.
The city has seen a surge in carjackings over the past year. Carjackings in Chicago more than doubled last year, from about 600 in 2019 to more than 1,400 in 2020, or nearly four per day.
The trend has only grown worse this year, with more than 220 carjackings so far, or more than five per day.
