Crime spree: Man arrested for stealing car in Lake Forest, crashing it in Chicago
Pictured is Robert Cattell, 52, of Chicago.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - A 52-year-old man is behind bars after he stole a vehicle at a north suburban gas station and crashed it in Chicago.
Robert Cattell, 52, is facing a string of charges, which include:
- One count of vehicular hijacking, a Class 1 felony
- One count of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, a Class 2 felony
- One count of failure to report a personal injury crash, a Class 2 felony
His charges stem from an incident at 3:50 a.m., Feb. 15 at the I-94 eastbound Lake Forest Oasis.
Illinois State Police say they initially received a report of a cigarette theft at a 7-Eleven gas station.
Cattell was caught on camera stealing a vehicle from someone as they were pumping gas, ISP says.
He tried to leave the scene with the victim's vehicle by putting it in reverse, but struck the victim with the driver's side door and broke the gas pump hose.
A state trooper pulled up next to Cattell, and he continued to reverse the vehicle, striking the front of the trooper's squad car, ISP says.
He then drove away from the scene but led troopers on a short pursuit before they lost sight of him.
Troopers later found the vehicle Cattell was traveling in crashed in Chicago. He had been arrested by Chicago police for DUI drugs, ISP says.
The victim of the carjacking was taken to an area hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Cattell was also taken to the hospital for minor injuries after wrecking the vehicle.
He was taken into custody on Friday and is being held in the Lake County Jail, pending a detention hearing.