Teen suspect in Aurora carjacking may be tried as adult, police say
A 16-year-old boy charged with hijacking an SUV from a woman in Aurora may end up being tried as an adult, Aurora police said Thursday.
And police are still looking for a third suspect in the January attack in which the driver of the SUV was shot in the back.
It was one of several new details revealed at a police news conference Thursday morning.
Chief Kristin Ziman said the 47-year-old woman is paralyzed from the waist down.
"This woman, this mother, was minding her own business inside her own car," Ziman said. "She represents all of us who move through the world each day without harming anyone. Who, in a moment's notice, become a victim of crime at the hands of heartless evildoers."
The chief said the major break in the case came from a tip from the Aurora Crime Stoppers hotline.
"We're a force multiplier when we (police and the community) all stand shoulder to shoulder," Ziman said of the tip.
The victim was eating lunch in her SUV around 4 p.m. Jan. 16 at a Wendy's on Orchard Road when she was attacked. Ziman said the carjackers forced the woman over the center console, shot her, then dragged her out and dumped her on the ground.
Police believe the suspects had taken a Ford Escape in a carjacking earlier that day at Barber Greene and County Line roads in DeKalb County. The Escape was found in the Wendy's lot, nearly out of gasoline, Ziman said.
When the woman's SUV was recovered on Jan. 20 in Harvey, there were "numerous" bullet holes in it, Ziman said.
Ziman said one of the Aurora suspects - a 15-year-old boy - was shot and killed on Jan. 23 during a carjacking in Lansing. Police there say they think he had participated in another carjacking earlier that day in Hammond, Indiana.
Aurora investigators declined to say when they received the Crime Stoppers tip.
The Kane County state's attorney's office declined to confirm that it is seeking to prosecute the 16-year-old as an adult.
"We don't discuss ongoing investigations, and the law prohibits us from discussing juvenile cases," said Chris Nelson, chief of staff and director of communications.
The boy was arrested on April 21 in Harvey. His next court date is May 4 at the Kane County Juvenile Justice Center.
Aurora police arrested Edward McGee, 26, of Harvey, on April 26. He is being held in the Kane County jail on $500,000 bail. His next court date is May 7.