Murder Charges Dropped Against 5 Teens Over 14-Year-Old's Death

WAUKEGAN, IL — Prosecutors agreed to drop first-degree murder charges against five Chicago teens accused of an attempted car burglary last month in Old Mill Creek. The incident left their 14-year-old companion dead and ended with a high-speed chase from Lake County to the West Loop, authorities said.

Lake County State's Attorney Mike Nerheim said his office and defense attorneys have negotiated an agreement in which the one adult charged in the incident will plead guilty to reduced charges and the four minors involved will have their cases moved to juvenile court.

Nerheim's office initially charged the 16-year-old boy, three 17-year-old boys and an 18-year-old woman as adults with first-degree murder. Under the "felony murder rule," anyone who takes part in a forcible felony can be charged with murder in the death of anyone who died during the crime.

"The dilemma I have faced for the last five weeks surrounding the Old Mill Creek case has been balancing justice, the safety of our community, and recognizing the ages of the offenders involved," Nerheim said in a statement.

According to the investigation, six teenagers — "most of whom have significant criminal histories," according to Nerheim — arrived in rural Old Mill Creek around 1:15 a.m. Aug. 13 in a Lexus SUV reported stolen from Wilmette a few days earlier.

A 75-year-old homeowner in the "very remote, dark and secluded" area of Lake County got out of bed after noticing the SUV's headlights heading down his long driveway, the investigation found. The car parked facing the road and several people got out and walked toward his house.

The resident, who was permitted to carry a concealed weapon, armed himself and went outside to see what was going on. Several of the group came toward him, he told investigators, and he saw one of them carrying an object. Fearing for his life and the safety of his wife, the investigation found he fired several times "to try to scare the offenders away," according to Nerheim's statement.

Jaquan Swopes, 14, was shot in the head. Investigators found a 10-inch hunting knife nearby, according to prosecutors. The teenagers got back into the stolen Lexus and fled south as the homeowner called police, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. No charges were filed against the resident.

About 10 minutes later and 3 miles south, the teens pulled over near an unrelated traffic crash in Gurnee and dropped off Swopes and one of the other teens, according to sheriff's office spokesperson Sgt. Chris Covelli. A police officer called for an ambulance and began performing CPR as the four teens remaining in the Lexus sped away.

They led police on a chase that reached speeds of more than 100 MPH and ended only when the SUV ran out of gas near Halsted and Randolph streets in Chicago, according to Covelli. Three were quickly arrested. The fourth attempted to hide in a dumpster in the 100 block of North Green Street but was soon found by a police dog, prosecutors said.

The preliminary hearing in the murder case that had been due to take place Sept. 5 was delayed until Thursday so attorneys could look through hundreds of pages of police reports and other evidence collected by multiple law enforcement agencies involved. Prosecutors continued to "review the evidence, facts and background of the offenders in order to make appropriate formal charging decisions," Nerheim said after the hearing.

The five defendants had been detained in lieu of the $100,000 cash portions of their bails. The four minors were held at a Vernon Hills juvenile detention center, and the adult was taken to Lake County Jail.

Announcing the plea deals ahead of Thursday's hearing, Nerheim said he had discretion over whether or not to file felony murder charges, which he said could still fit the offense.

"However, after full consideration of all the evidence, mitigation presented by defense counsel as well as the wishes of the victim's family, my office has entered into an agreement with defense counsel for the five offenders," Nerheim said.

Once the police investigation was completed and turned over to the state's attorney's office, prosecutors and defense attorneys worked out "fair and just punishments that took into account the facts, circumstances, prior history, and ages of the offenders," Nerheim said.

Diamond Davis, 18, of Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, was expected to plead guilty Thursday to one count of conspiracy to commit burglary, a class 4 felony, and one count of criminal trespass to a motor vehicle, a class A misdemeanor, according to the state's attorney. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after she enters a plea, and prosecutors will ask to dismiss the pending murder charge.

No details of any charges or pleas by the four other defendants were released. Although their identities were disclosed after they were charged as adults, since they are now being treated as juveniles, state law prohibits the release of any law enforcement records in their case.

Illinois is one of just 19 states with a first-degree murder statute that does not differentiate between those who directly take part in killings and their co-defendants, using the "proximate cause" theory instead of the "agency" theory, sentencing reform advocates said. According to the Evanston-based nonprofit Restore Justice, the rule disproportionately affects young people, who are more likely to act in groups, and women.

A bill introduced in January and currently sitting in the Illinois House Rules Committee would amend the criminal code to the agency theory, requiring that someone "personally causes the death" or "knew that the other participant would engage in conduct that would result in death or great bodily harm" in order to be charged with murder. It picked up six additional co-sponsors after Swopes' death for a total of eight.

Nerheim's decision to initially charge the teens with murder was controversial. Activists dubbed the group the "Lake County Five," and their supporters held a vigil at the courthouse in Waukegan earlier this month, the Lake County News-Sun reported.

"It's already a tragedy, and what they shouldn't do is turn this into a travesty of justice," said Marshall Hatch, a Chicago pastor, according to the News-Sun. "It's obviously overcharged. Everybody knows it's overreach on the part of the Lake County state's attorney."

After announcing the deal to drop the felony murder charges, Nerheim said his objective had been to balance his obligations to treat defendants fairly while keeping the community safe.

"I believe this resolution accomplishes that goal," he said. "It is time for these offenders to understand the seriousness of their actions and face the consequences. If they choose to continue to follow the troubled path they are currently on, it will end in only one of two ways — either with another tragic funeral or with more involvement with the criminal justice system. My hope is they will learn from this tragedy, and because of their young age, take this opportunity to be rehabilitated."

Earlier:

• Hearing Delayed For 5 Teens Charged In Friend's Shooting Death
• 1 Dead, 5 Arrested After High-Speed Chase From North Suburbs