Sailors charged in alleged carjacking, assault
On a day when the nation honors service men and woman who died in war, two Great Lakes Naval Station sailors were charged with carjacking a taxi while they were passengers, police said.
Lake County sheriff's police said they were called about 9:15 p.m. Monday after the cab driver fled from his vehicle as it slowed and ran to a home seeking help. Police said they later found the taxi on fire north of Gurnee in Wadsworth.
Deputy Chief Kevin Parker said the men hailed the taxi at Union Station in downtown Chicago and took control of the vehicle near the Navy base.
Sailors Terry Edward Gappa, 20, of Plymouth, Mass., and Aaron Layne Couch, 21, of Monroe, La., were charged with vehicle theft, assault, theft of services over $100 and criminal damage to property over $300. Both men are each free on a $50,000 recognizance bond.
Parker said the men faced a cab fare of more than $100 when they reached the base near North Chicago. The sailors then threatened to kill the 31-year-old cabbie from Chicago if he didn't allow them to drive, police said.
One of the sailors got behind the wheel after the driver moved to the front passenger seat, authorities said. The cab was then driven north toward Gurnee.
Parker said the vehicle was near Hunt Club and Stearns School roads, just north of Gurnee Mills, when the cabbie bolted after it slowed. The cab driver ran to a home for help as the sailors drove away, he said.
Sheriff's police received a call at 10:02 p.m. Monday about a vehicle engulfed in flames about five miles northeast of Stearns School and Hunt Club roads, said Parker. The sailors were found a short distance from what was confirmed to be the cab in the carjacking, police said.
Couch and Gappa are students at Great Lakes' Training Support Center, which as part of its mission provides management and military development of sailors. Training support spokesman Matt Mogle said the sailors are restricted to the base while the military investigates the incident.
"We definitely don't take kindly to that type of activity," Mogle said.
Parker said the sailors didn't make any statements to investigators.
Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran expressed disappointment at how the sailors' arrests in the cabjacking incident occurred on Memorial Day.
"It's a shame at the time of year when we honor those who have given their lives for our country that two members of our military would act in such an unlawful manner," Curran said.