Chicago Carjacker's 'Dumb Mistake': He Drove To Will Co., Glasgow Says

JOLIET, IL — Chicago carjacker Jordan Henry's biggest and dumbest mistake was driving south on Interstate 55 and heading into Will County around 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 23, 2022, Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow announced at Wednesday's press conference.

Glasgow's first press conference of the year took place just a few hours after the 28-year-old Henry, who has an extensive criminal history, was sentenced to 22 years of prison time by Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak.

Police said Henry committed his carjacking on Diversey Parkway in Chicago; the Illinois State Police pursued him in his stolen car at speeds of 120 mph. Near Joliet, Shorewood police officers deployed stop sticks near Interstate 80 and I-55. After the tires were flattened, Henry ran from his stolen car into a marshy area with tall reeds, Glasgow said at Wednesday's press conference.

After the Illinois State Police dog Hades chased after Henry into the marsh, Henry punched the dog before being taken into custody, Glasgow said.

At his bench trial on Jan. 27, Henry was found guilty of 13 crimes, including striking a police animal.

Before being captured near Joliet 13 months ago, Henry, at first, tried to carjack another person, at a 7-Eleven in Chicago's Lincoln Park area. When Henry aimed his gun at that car owner's face, the owner ran off with his keys, preventing Henry from taking his car, although Henry did steal the victim's phone from the seat, Glasgow explained.

About 30 minutes later, Henry found his next victim, a 69-year-old man who worked as an Uber driver and owned a black Volkswagen Jetta.

"A 69-year-old man, puts a gun in his face," Glasgow declared. "Now, I want to stress the gun in the face. Because, I've never had that happen to me and I know, if you're ever around a gun owner, they always make sure they never point the gun at you. They always show you that it's empty before they display it to you.

"To have a gun pointed at your face in Chicago during this tumultuous time, God only knows what the psychological damage can be and how long that will stay with you," Glasgow said Wednesday. "How many times you're going to wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. That kind of violence has got to be addressed, hard and fast. And I think that we've demonstrated here in Will County is how the law that's on the books right now could be used fairly and effectively and stop violent crime."

Glasgow told reporters that Henry, who had an address in Harvey, was an arrogant criminal with an attitude. At the press conference, Glasgow revealed that Henry was free on bond after paying $1,000, or 10 percent of his $10,000 Cook County bail on Feb. 10, 2022, for a possession of a stolen car arrest.

In Cook County, Henry is still facing two aggravated kidnapping with intent to inflict harm charges, four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, two counts of aggravated robbery with a gun and aggravated battery in a public place, from an incident on Sept. 26, 2021 — as well as an outstanding warrant for theft in Lake County, Indiana.

After Henry was captured by Illinois State Police near Joliet and being evaluated by paramedics, he told one of them, "I will be out (of custody) by Sunday," Glasgow said. "This is a case where $1 million bail was absolutely appropriate. The dumbest thing he did was go south on Interstate 55. That was his big mistake."

Glasgow said the influx of Flock camera license plate readers were instrumental in alerting Illinois State Police that Henry was driving in the stolen car 13 months ago.

Will County's State's Attorney said that Cook County's most notorious criminals are becoming aware to stay out of Will County.

Glasgow said that carjacking crimes are still rare in Will County.

"And so, that message has gotten north, and they rarely come here," Glasgow remarked. "This guy, Jordan Henry, did not come here voluntarily. He got chased here. But the bottom line is, it just shows that if law enforcement is working properly, and we're all working together, we can stop these kinds of crimes. But there has to be effective prosecution.

"There has to be effectiveness in the courtrooms, which we have here. Our judges do an excellent job in the cases that we bring before them. And you know, this isn't just a ham-fisted prosecutor up here saying let's lock everybody up. Our Problem Solving Courts that I helped start back in 1998, are the best in the state of Illinois ... we have three transition homes. Nobody has that.

"So there can be a balance, but we have a Constitutional right to be safe in our communities and that's being strained right now, although Joliet was just named the eighth-safest city in the country, and we're very proud of that because we do have a gang element here in this area. But the Joliet Police Department does a fantastic job in patrolling and handling that situation.

"So, when you look at the number of murders that are occurring on an annual basis in Will County, between 10 and 20 maybe a year, versus just to the north of us, I think a year ago, it had 1,000, there's no comparison. And the proof is in the pudding."