Articles Posted in Theft

A Chicago man has been charged with carjacking from an incident that occurred last March, according to a recent press release. The incident occurred in Mount Prospect, and Mount Prospect police initiated the arrest. According to the report, the incident occurred at 11 p.m. on March 19, 2022. A white Hyundai Santa Fe was stolen in the 1800 block of North Burning Bush Lane. The vehicle was recovered in Chicago three days later and was towed to Mount Prospect police headquarters. A stolen license plate was found affixed to the vehicle. The suspect was apprehended after fingerprint analysis on the license plate matched the suspect’s. The suspect’s bail was set at $200,000.

Vehicular Hijacking Charges

With the rise in carjackings all across the nation, authorities have been cracking down and filing charges against suspected carjackers. The State of Illinois takes carjacking very seriously. It is punishable by a sentence of either 4 to 15 years or when conditions can be considered aggravated, a term of 6 to 30 years. In some cases, carjacking charges can have enhancements that include the possibility of life in prison. 

A 31-year-old Chicago woman pleaded guilty to weapons charges in connection with an arrest related to looting during the George Floyd protests. She was charged with the possession of a firearm by a felon after officers spotted her in the doorway of a bar. The woman was found in possession of about $5,000 in stolen jewelry as well as an illicit handgun. The tags were still attached to the jewelry, which had been looted from a nearby store. 

The defendant had been sentenced previously for aggravated robbery, which is a felony. The felony on her record would bar her from owning a gun. The charge could lead to a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. However, her attorney announced they would be looking for a sentence in the three-to-five years range. 

Being a Felon in Possession of a Weapon

After social media videos disseminated online showed how certain models of vehicles can be hotwired, reports of car thefts have skyrocketed in the Chicago area. Criminal experts say that the boom in car thefts is only partly related to the videos, and carjackings and similar crimes are also accounting for a spurt in car thefts. While data released relates to Chicago, the same can be said of major cities all across the U.S., with some putting the uptick as high as 20%. 

Security cameras caught the theft of high-end vehicles from a repair shop, a novel approach to stealing cars. The owner of the repair shop said they had six or seven guys jimmying the locks, which allowed them to overpower the locking devices and break into the repair shop.

Car Theft Statistics by State

The victim in this case shot and wounded one of the suspects in an attempted carjacking. The crime occurred in the 7600 block of Cicero Ave near the Ford City Mall, according to the report. The victim, who was 24, was approached by two suspects, one of whom was carrying a handgun. The suspect allegedly fired at the victim, who produced their own handgun and fired back. Police said the victim was legally authorized to carry a weapon and had a valid FOID/CCL license. The victim is not being charged with a crime in this case.

Self-Defense

In this case, the victim has a valid claim of self-defense since the suspect was found carrying a weapon and discharged that weapon. But not all cases of self-defense are so cut-and-dried. In many cases, a victim can be charged with a crime for discharging their weapon in public or even attempted murder. 

Since retail theft crimes have become a major problem across the U.S., the Chicago police department has initiated a sprawling effort to reduce the overall number of retail thefts and ensure the prosecution of those who are caught. An Illinois man has since been charged with eight counts of non-probational felony theft and four counts of probational felony theft. 

Theft crimes have become a political battlefield, and today, it is common to find different jurisdictions throughout Illinois enforcing different rules pertaining to local ordinances. It was assumed that the rules were overly harsh and antiquated. A defendant could face felony charges for the theft of $150 in merchandise. Today, the threshold is much higher, but the pressure on law enforcement has increased as retail theft crimes become more commonplace and organized. Today, the only way to get a felony by stealing $150 in merchandise is if you steal gasoline from a fuel pump. 

Analyzing the New Initiative

The Justice Department announced charges against 21 individuals involved in an organized theft of catalytic converters. From 2018 to 2020, catalytic converter thefts skyrocketed by nearly 700%. Catalytic converters are now big money due in large part to the precious metals used in the manufacture of devices. They are designed to convert harmful gas emissions created by your vehicle into non-harmful gas emissions that reduce smog and protect the environment. Without a catalytic converter, your car will not run properly, either. As the value of these precious metals has increased over the past few years (think inflation), catalytic converters are becoming a prime target for thieves. 

As of right now, some states have moved to place catalytic converters on a list of restricted items that require ownership documentation and provenance to exchange. Others have yet to pass legislation addressing the thefts of catalytic converters, but as the situation worsens, chances are likely that more states will join in to include catalytic converters on lists of restricted items. 

The 21 individuals charged in the ring lived in nine separate states. 32 search warrants were executed, and millions in assets were seized as a part of the investigation. 

Call Guinness; it’s a new record! A South Side teen committed nine carjackings in one day. He has since been charged with 11 carjackings with a deadly weapon and two counts of damaging government property. No one was injured or killed during these carjackings. Instead, it appears to be an effort to commit as many carjackings as possible in as short a period of time as possible. While the carjacker is under 18, he is likely to be charged as an adult and face substantial prison time. His age will be considered a factor when sentencing him, but he will go to prison for these crimes.

Aggravated vehicular hijacking comes with a potential sentence of between four and 15 years. So, figuring this precocious teen will be sentenced toward the minimum because of his age, he still faces 44 years behind bars. That’s not good. Getting your name into Guinness isn’t a big enough payoff to spend the next 44 years of your life behind bars. 

Now What?

A 19-year-old man and seven others are accused of forcing their way into a Louis Vuitton store and stealing an estimated $77,000 in merchandise. In this case, each of the bags had trackers in them, and police were able to recover the trackers along the interstate. From the trackers, they were able to recover a palm print along with “other evidence” that placed one suspect at the scene of the crime. 

In terms of retail theft, the type of charge you face is related to the value of the merchandise. The law was updated in the past few years and now it is a felony to steal any merchandise valued at $1,000 or more. Prior to that, you only had to steal $150 worth of merchandise to qualify for a felony. However, due to inflation, the law was updated to reflect the minimal amount of buying power that $150 represents.

Those charged with felony retail theft can never expunge the offense from their record. Those charged with misdemeanor retail theft can. Hence, the stakes are quite high for 19-year-olds charged with retail theft. The state will still have to prove that the value of the stolen merchandise was greater than $1,000. Additionally, the palm print evidence may not be as strong as fingerprint evidence.

One brother is providing testimony against the other for a 45-year sentence after the two were involved in a robbery/homicide outside of a convenience store. The younger brother testified that his older brother handed him the gun he used to shoot the man. The victim was targeted after he was seen counting money outside of the convenience store. The two men then split the $50 he had on him.

The brother who did not provide testimony on behalf of the state is facing a mandatory life sentence if convicted. The younger brother testified that he pulled the trigger, but his older brother handed him the gun. The younger brother took $30 for pulling the trigger. 

Discrediting the Witness

Over the past two years, the number of carjackings in Chicago and across the country has conspicuously risen. Whether the matter is indirectly related to the pandemic, concerns about overcrowded prison cells, or something else entirely is a matter of intense debate. Another matter under debate is the problem that a number of the individuals committing the carjackings appear to be juveniles. 

In one case, a victim describes detailing a client’s car when a young man approached him from behind and stuck the barrel of a gun in his back, demanding the keys. The man handed the keys over to the teen who then proceeded to strike him in the bridge of the nose before stealing the car. The car had an anti-theft system and was easily disabled remotely. It was then found abandoned hours later. 

With anti-theft systems making carjackings more or less purposeless, one would imagine that carjacking would decrease. Yet that has not been the case. Why not? Well, the payoff, in fact, may not be the car at all, but the actual jacking.

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