Teens charged with carjacking in Carol Stream, fleeing from police at 140 mph

Two Chicago teens are charged with carjacking a vehicle at gunpoint from a Carol Stream strip mall Friday evening before leading police on a high-speed chase through neighboring communities.

The 16-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy appeared at a detention hearing Sunday morning, where DuPage County Judge Jeffrey MacKay ordered both held pending their next court appearance Monday. Each is charged with one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm, one count of armed robbery with a firearm, two counts of aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle and one count of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, all felonies.

Their arrests followed a chain of events that began when Carol Stream police responded to a report of a stolen vehicle at about 6:59 p.m. Friday at a strip mall in the 200 block of West Army Trail Road.

According to police, the victim was standing outside his car, a 2019 Dodge Challenger Hellcat, when two teens wearing dark masks approached him. One pulled out a black handgun and pushed the barrel into the victim's side, while the second reached into the victim's pocket and attempted to get the keys to the Challenger, authorities said. The victim then removed the keys from his pocket and gave them to one of the juveniles, officials said.

Carol Stream officers located the vehicle driving on Army Trail Road and attempted a traffic stop, but the driver fled, eventually getting on to southbound Interstate 355 and reaching speeds of about 140 mph, DuPage County prosecutors said.

Officers later found the Challenger abandoned on the shoulder of I-355, just north of Butterfield Road. The suspects were arrested a short time later in a crowded Lombard park, authorities said. Police also recovered a black handgun and the key fob to the Challenger at the park, officials said.

"The allegations against these two juveniles are outrageous," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in an announcement of the charges Sunday. "This type of violent behavior and complete and utter disregard for public safety will most certainly not be tolerated in DuPage County and will be met with the full force of the law. Thankfully, no one was injured or worse, killed, by the alleged actions of the accused."