Four months after an attempted carjacking in Homewood, a teenage defendant in the case is back in the Cook County Detention Center.
The youth was released from custody twice since the incident and has been found to have violated the terms of his release both times, said Lisa Gordon, a spokeswoman for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. After his first release, he was arrested for possession of a stolen motor vehicle, Gordon said Thursday.
Cook County Juvenile Court Judge Donna Cooper Monday ruled that the youth, who was 17 at the time of the incident, was in contempt of court and is to remain in the detention center. The case is being heard at the Markham courthouse.
The teenager is charged with attempted armed robbery and attempted vehicular hijacking on Sept. 10. Police said he and another suspect tried to take a car at gunpoint at about 11 p.m. on the 18600 block of Klimme Avenue in Homewood. The victim, an off-duty police officer, fired a round from his handgun and chased the suspects after they ran away. Police are still searching for the other suspect.
Two weeks after the incident, Judge Cooper released the defendant from custody on the condition that he live with his grandmother in Chicago Heights and attend one of Rich Township District 227 high schools. As a condition of his release, he was ordered to wear electronic monitoring and not leave his home except to go to school.
Gordon gave a summary of court activity in the case since the defendant’s first release on Sept. 25.
On Oct. 16, the State’s Attorney’s office filed a motion that the defendant had violated the terms of his electronic monitoring. He was ordered to appear in court the following week.
On Oct. 21, he did not appear in court and the judge issued a warrant for his arrest.
On Oct. 23, he was arrested in Sauk Village in possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Gordon said the youth faces additional criminal charges from that incident.
On Oct. 26, he appeared in court and was ordered held at the juvenile detention center.
On Nov. 17, the judge ordered another round of electronic monitoring for the youth.
Gordon said there was subsequent evidence that he again violated the terms of the electronic monitoring and he was back in custody Dec. 15.
On Jan. 4, the judge found the teen in contempt of court. His next court date is Jan. 29.
At a juvenile court hearing in September, prior to the teen’s first release, Assistant State’s Attorney Clyde Guilamo said he had been implicated in three previous incidents, two of them armed robberies, involving handguns. All took place in 2014. He was also accused of a residential burglary, Guilamo said. He said at the hearing that the defendant is a threat to the community and should not be released from the juvenile detention center.
Assistant Public Defender Ashley McKeigue said at the September hearing that the juvenile was not prosecuted for any of the previous incidents cited by Guilamo. She said he had no previous convictions and asked the judge to release him to the custody of his grandmother to begin high school classes.
Both Guilamo and McKeigue agreed in September that the teen is not accused of pointing a gun at the victim during the carjacking event. Police reports indicate that the other suspect, who may be an adult, held the gun and attempted to open the victim’s car door, McKeigue said.
Juvenile court proceedings are closed to the public. Crime victims and family members of defendants are allowed in juvenile court. With permission from the court, the news media is also allowed to attend but must follow guidelines, including an agreement to not name defendants who are minors.