Chicago woman charged in Elmhurst auto theft

A Chicago woman is being held on $50,000 bond in connection with the theft of a car Wednesday from the driveway of the victim's Elmhurst home, authorities said.

Jamesha McChristine, 19, of the 7000 block of S. Langley, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle, two counts of criminal damage to property and one count of criminal damage to government-supported property.

Police said McChristine was in a vehicle with seven other people around 3 p.m. Wednesday when she saw the victim exit her car on Grantley Avenue and leave it running in the driveway.

McChristine got out of the car she was riding in, entered the victim's car through an open door and drove away in the stolen vehicle, police said. The seven people remaining in the other car also fled.

The victim saw her car being stolen and immediately called police.

Police said McChristine crashed the stolen vehicle into two parked cars in Elmhurst along with a fence and landscaping owned by the city.

She later crashed the car into an apartment building in Forest Park and was apprehended when she tried to run away.

The seven other individuals with McChristine all were apprehended and charged with misdemeanor offenses.

"The brazen conduct alleged against this defendant is simply outrageous," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a news release.

McChristine's next court date is scheduled for Jan. 2 in front of Judge Brian Telander.