Teens charged in violent 2023 carjacking near Libertyville in which victim’s child was taken

Two teens are facing felony charges alleging they violently carjacked a woman and took her young son in early 2023 near Libertyville.

The charges against the two males, one from Lindenhurst and one from Waukegan, were announced Thursday by the Lake County sheriff’s and state’s attorney’s offices.

The suspects are 19 years old currently, but because they were 17 at the time of the offense, they’re being charged as juveniles with aggravated vehicular carjacking and vehicular hijacking, authorities said.

However, county prosecutors hope to have the cases transferred adult court, officials said.

Both were in custody in unrelated cases when the carjacking charges were brought, according to the sheriff’s office.

The charges stem from a Feb. 23, 2023 carjacking on the 16000 block of Route 137, authorities said.

A 34-year-old woman told investigators she had pulled into her driveway and brought one of her children inside her residence at about 3:30 p.m. that day when a white BMW pulled behind her vehicle.

A passenger from the BMW attempted to force his way into the woman’s 2021 Volkswagen Atlas as she tried to keep her 2-year-old son inside safe, authorities said at the time. The man knocked the woman to the ground and took the car with the child inside, officials said.

One of the vehicles ran over the woman as the drivers sped away, leaving her seriously injured, the sheriff’s office reported.

A short time later, an employee at a Waukegan business reported two vehicles entering the parking lot and a child being let out of one of them. Employees rescued the child before he wandered onto busy Lakeside Drive, authorities reported.

The stolen Volkswagen was later located in a parking lot in Waukegan, officials said.

Sheriff’s officials said detectives pursued dozens of leads and reviewed hours of video surveillance, physical evidence reports and cell tower data, and obtained subpoenas and search warrants in order to bring the charges.

“Complex investigations like these require time and precision to ensure justice is served and I am very proud of everyone involved in this investigation,” Sheriff John D. Idleburg said.

Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart also praised the teamwork between investigating agencies.

“The thorough and determined work of our prosecutors, in collaboration with sheriff’s detectives, reflects our commitment to holding violent offenders accountable,” he said.