Teens Driving Stolen Vehicles Arrested: Lake Forest PD

LAKE FOREST, IL — Twice last month, the Lake Forest Police Department arrested teenagers allegedly found behind the wheel of stolen vehicles. Three people were arrested, aged 16, 18 and 19, in two separate incidents involving stolen vehicles in cooperation with the Highland Park and Waukegan police departments, according to police.

In the first case, a significant number of car burglaries were reported in Lake Forest, Lake Bluff and Highland Park in the early morning hours of May 11, along with two stolen Mercedes-Benz sedans, police said. Lake Forest cops spoke to a resident on the 1200 block of Green Bay Road who found his 2004 Mercedes Benz missing from his driveway after leaving it unlocked with the keys inside.

Investigators then traced the stolen Mercedes to North Chicago. Lake Forest Detectives, with the help of Waukegan police, stopped the vehicle and arrested its occupants.

LaRoyce Gordon, 19, of the 2000 block of Green Bay Road in North Chicago, and Gary M. Williams, 18, of the 1600 block of Lewis Avenue in North Chicago, were charged with criminal trespassing to a motor vehicle.

Both have pleaded not guilty. Williams' next appearance is Tuesday, while Gordon's has been scheduled for July 6, according to court records.

In the second case, police were on a regular patrol around Route 41 and Westleigh Road when they heard an emergency radio alert from the Illinois State Police about a stolen vehicle, described by the broadcast as a silver Chevrolet Cruze, police said. The Chevy was being tracked by an OnStar unit, which showed it heading southbound on Route 41 from Waukegan.

Police from Lake Forest and Highland Park stopped the car on Route 41 and spoke with the driver. Cops confirmed the car had been stolen out of Waukegan and detained the driver, who they found to be a 16-year-old from Waukegan, according to police.

Police said he was cited by Lake Forest police for driving without a license, given a July 18 court date in Park City and released to the Waukegan Police Department.

None of the three have been charged with felonies, and all are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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