Expand / Collapse search
☰

Two men arrested for multiple violent carjackings in Chicago

By Sun-Times Media Wire
Published  December 5, 2020 8:11pm CST
Crime and Public Safety
Sun-Times Media Wire
article

CHICAGO - Two men are facing charges in connection with multiple armed carjackings in Chicago in which they allegedly fired shots at the victims.

Marcus Whatley, 22, and 23-year-old Javon Readus are each charged with attempted murder, vehicular hijacking, aggravated battery with a firearm and criminal trespass to vehicles, Chicago police said. Readus is also charged with two misdemeanor counts of obstructing police.

The charges stem from “multiple vehicular hijackings,” police said, but did not provide details on specific incidents.

The arrests come amid a spike in carjackings across the city. Chicago police have responded to 1,229 carjackings this year through Nov. 22, more than double the 514 carjackings in Chicago in all of 2019, according to data obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.

On Thursday, a 65-year-old retired firefighter was fatally shot on the Far South Side during an attempted carjacking.

Retired Chicago firefighter killed while exchanging gunfire with would-be carjackers on Far South Side: police

A retired Chicago firefighter was fatally shot during an exchange of gunfire with would-be carjackers Thursday afternoon in Morgan Park on the Far South Side, according to police.