Cars in Des Plaines thefts used in homicide, other crimes
Des Plaines police have recovered 10 vehicles stolen in a rash of recent thefts from car rental facilities, according to a Tuesday news release.
Some of the vehicles - stolen by five juveniles arrested last week - had been heavily damaged or used in the commission of crimes, including a homicide in Chicago, police said. Two others were used in suburban police chases and another had bullet holes, police said.
Late Friday and early Saturday morning, Des Plaines and Rosemont police caught the juvenile suspects trying to steal cars from a rental lot north of Allstate Arena on the 2100 block of Mannheim Road. Officers were conducting extra patrols of the area after thieves had stolen 13 cars two weeks earlier at a neighboring car rental business, police said.
About 11 p.m. Friday, two officers were conducting a check and saw six juveniles jumping the fence, police said. Officers caught three teens inside the lot and reported finding a backpack with a loaded gun in it, authorities said.
Rosemont public safety personnel spotted two other juvenile suspects near the intersection of Pratt Avenue and Greco Lane in Des Plaines, police said. After the teens ran away, officers set up a perimeter and used a police dog to track them to a wooded area. They were taken into custody, and another gun was found nearby, police said.
A sixth juvenile suspect escaped.
Des Plaines investigators worked with Chicago police to find the vehicles. Seven were found on the city's south and west sides, police said.
The suspects used stolen vehicles from other communities to drive to both incidents in Des Plaines, police said.
All five suspects from last weekend have been charged and await trial in a juvenile detention center. Two are also charged in connection with the theft of 13 vehicles May 9, police said.
The charges include burglary, vehicle theft and unlawful use of a weapon.