Westmont teen to be tried as an adult in carjacking shooting case
A teenager will be tried as an adult on charges he shot a woman while stealing her car in January in Westmont.
DuPage County Judge Anthony Coco ruled Friday to transfer 16-year-old Mitch Crawford's case to adult court, according to a news release from the state's attorney's office.
On Wednesday, Crawford appeared before Judge Daniel Guerin, who set his bail at $250,000. Crawford would need to post $25,000 bail to be freed pretrial.
Around 11:54 p.m. Jan. 4, Westmont police responded to a carjacking at the Suffield Gardens apartment complex on 63rd Street. They found a woman with a gunshot wound in the leg.
The woman was parking her car near her apartment when Crawford pointed a gun at her and ordered her to get out, authorities said. He then shot her and pulled her out by the hood of her coat.
Oak Brook police found the car about 11 minutes later on Route 83 near I-88. They chased it onto I-290 at speeds of more than 100 mph. The vehicle crashed at the Mannheim Road exit.
Police say they found a loaded P80 polymer gun with no serial number and an extended ammunition magazine in the vehicle.
Crawford is charged with aggravated vehicular hijacking, aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated fleeing and eluding, and unlawful possession of a concealable firearm by a minor.
Crawford was 15 years old at the time of his arrest. He lives on the 1100 block of South Williams Street in Westmont.
Crawford's next court date is June 22. If convicted, he could be sentenced to six to 55 years in prison.