Teen To Be Tried As Adult In DuPage County Carjackings

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — A teen who was charged in connection with a string of armed carjackings in Downers Grove and Warrenville will be tried as an adult, according to DuPage County State's Attorney's Office. The teen had been held in the DuPage County Juvenile Detention Center since his arrest on Dec. 19, 2019.

The juvenile was charged with three counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking, one count of armed robbery with a firearm, one count of unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.

Police got a call on Nov. 30, 2019 to report a carjacking on Prairie Avenue in Downers Grove. During an investigation, police say they found that the juvenile went up to the car with a handgun and said, "give me the car." The victim got out and the juvenile is accused of driving away in the car.

On Dec. 13, another carjacking was reported in Warrenville. Police say the juvenile, along with Emanuel Embry, 19, and Daysean Washington-Davis, 20, both of Chicago, followed the victim home. Once the victim got home, police say the juvenile and Embry, both armed, demanded his car and wallet before driving off in the car.

Police say 20 minutes later, the juvenile and Embry carjacked a pregnant woman at gunpoint as she sat in her car on Hawkins Street in Downers Grove. A friend of the woman followed the vehicle, according to police. Embry and the juvenile are accused of getting out of the car and fleeing the scene.

3 Charged With Armed Carjackings In Downers Grove, Warrenville

One of the defendants is accused of getting into the pregnant victim's friend's car and driving off.

DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement, "In DuPage County we take violent crimes, such as alleged against these defendants, extremely seriously. If found guilty, the juvenile allegedly involved in these crimes is equally culpable as his co-defendants and for justice to be served it is imperative that any penalty he faces reflect the severity of the crime. Simply put, the fact that he was several months shy of his eighteenth birthday should not shield him for a proper measure of justice."

Embry was charged with two counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking, one count of armed robbery with a firearm and one count of unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Washington-Davis was charged with four counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking, one count of armed robbery with a firearm, one count of armed violence, two counts of unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.

If convicted, the teen, Embry and Washington-Davis face up to 45 years in prison. The juvenile is set to appear in court again on Aug. 14.