Four Teens Arrested Within Minutes of Senior Citizen Carjacking: Village

Oak Park, IL - The calm response and quick thinking of two Oak Park senior citizens after a carjacking led to the quick arrest of four teenagers who police believe committed the crime.

A 71-year-old man was sitting in the driver's seat of his 2002 Oldsmobile around 5 p.m. April 7 in an alley behind his home in the 700 block of North Grove Avenue when a man with a gun approached and demanded the car, according to the Village of Oak Park.

The elderly man got out of the car, the man with the gun got into the driver's seat, and two other people got into the back seat, the village reports. A fourth person pointed a handgun at the elderly man's wife, 67, who was taking items out of the passenger's side, and he also got into the car.

They drove away northbound in the alley, and the senior couple called 911 right away. Chicago police found the car and followed it to a dead end, where the four people were captured after they tried to run away in the 300 block of North Parkside Avenue.

The seniors identified them in a street line up.

Darryl G. Peters Jr., 19 of the 400 block of N. Trumbull Avenue, and Anthony C. Johnson, 18 of the 3800 block of W. 13th Street, were each charged with four counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking, according to the village.

Two Chicago juveniles, ages 15 and 17, both of the 1400 block of S. Hamlin Street, were each charged with two counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking and one count of attempted armed robbery.

Oak Park Police Chief Rick C. Tanksley said the help from the victims was critical to the quick arrests.

“This couple did everything right," Tanksley said in a statement. "They didn’t panic, they didn’t resist and they immediately called 911. They also made it a point to retain details about their assailants that made it easy for them to make a positive identification. I think everyone can learn a lesson from how the victims handled themselves.”

Bond was set at $250,000 each for Peters and Johnson. Their next court date is set for April 12 at the Fourth Municipal District Courthouse in Maywood. The two juveniles were taken to the Cook County secure juvenile detention center.

Photos courtesy of the Village of Oak Park.