2 Cook County Jail Detainees Tied To July 2024 Shootout With Off-Duty Cop In Morgan Park

CHICAGO — Law enforcement caught up with a pair of Cook County Jail detainees who’ve been linked to two attempted carjackings in Morgan Park that occurred in July 2024.

Angel Contreras and James Robinson, both 21, were taken into custody in November 2024 by Chicago police and the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force. The two have been in custody since November at the Cook County Jail. Both are already facing a laundry list of felonies, including attempted murder, vehicular hijacking, aggravated armed robbery and discharge of a firearm.

The two are accused of multiple robberies that began in the early morning hours of July 23, 2024, starting with the attempted murder of an off-duty Chicago police officer. According to police, a group of would-be armed carjackers confronted the off-duty cop in the 10800 block of South Campbell Avenue when he was leaving for work. When the group tried to box the box him in on his driveway, an exchange of gunfire ensued, but no one was injured.

Minutes earlier, the group tried to carjack a 42-year-old woman at gunpoint in the 10900 block of South Oakley Avenue. Later that morning, the group progressed to Lansing, where police say they committed two more robberies and vehicular hijackings.

After a months-long investigation, Chicago police linked Robinson and Contreras with the July 2024 incidents in the 22nd Chicago Police District.

In addition, police said Robinson was identified as a suspect in five other incidents on July 22, 2024. Both suspects will remain in custody of the Cook County Sheriff.