Authorities: Man was killed during botched armed robbery attempt at Oakbrook Center

A Chicago woman was injured and her accomplice was killed during a botched armed robbery last month at Oakbrook Center mall, authorities said Tuesday.

Chance Jamerson, 29, and 28-year-old Justin Hill of Dolton were attempting to rob someone of $2,000 in the parking lot of the Oak Brook mall on Sept. 30 when they were both shot, authorities said. Hill was killed in the shooting.

On Tuesday, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said no one will be charged with Hill’s death.

Berlin said during a news conference that the man who killed Hill used the gun that Hill brought to the robbery. The man was acting in justified self-defense, Berlin added.

Meanwhile, Jamerson, who was injured during the shooting, is now facing three counts of attempted armed robbery. On Tuesday, DuPage County Judge Joshua Dieden ordered that Jamerson be detained to await trial.

According to prosecutors, Jamerson was the mastermind behind the attempted armed robbery.

Assistant state’s attorney Alexandra Levan told Dieden that Jamerson had gone to the mall the day before with one of the victims, to buy Swatch watches.

The man had been hiring people to buy the watches, which cost $448 apiece, so he could resell them. The store had limited sales to one per person.

Jamerson knew the man would be carrying $2,000 in cash the next day, prosecutors said.

On Sept. 30, Jamerson rode with the man and two other people to the mall in a Mercedes-Benz.

Hill drove to the mall that day in a Nissan, Levan said.

She said Jamerson sent text messages to Hill, including telling him to bring a gun.

When they arrived, Hill boxed the victim’s vehicle in a parking spot. Hill then opened a door of the Mercedes and pointed the handgun inside, Levan said.

The driver and Hill struggled over the gun, and Jamerson joined in, trying to help Hill, according to Levan.

Jamerson was shot in the abdomen during the struggle, authorities said. The driver the got out of the car and shot Hill with the gun, officials said.

One of the three victims then moved the Nissan out of the way, according to prosecutors.

Levan said Jamerson got into the Nissan and drove off but returned moments later.

The three victims drove to the Oakbrook Terrace Police Department and turned themselves in, Levan said.

Berlin said Jamerson cannot be charged with murder for Hill’s death due to a change in state law that was made a few years ago when the SAFE-T Act was adopted.

Before that, a person could be charged with murder for the death of a co-participant in a forcible felony crime, even if the person was killed by someone else, he said.

Now they can only be charged with murder if they personally caused the death, he said.

After Jamerson’s hearing, her attorney, Gus Kostopoulos, said Jamerson denies the state’s allegations. He said she is the mother of three children, including a baby who is about a month old. She cares for an elderly grandmother and is attending college, Kostopoulos said.

Kostopoulos had argued for home detention, including GPS monitoring, for Jamerson.

Oak Brook Police Chief Brian Strockis said at the news conference that the Swatch store had a special release event. He said such store events are no longer allowed.

It was the second time police have had an issue with Swatch releases in the last year. In May, the store was closed for two days when large crowds overwhelmed it.

ssarkauskas@dailyherald.com