3 Charged Over Wilmette Burglary, Police Chase, Carjacking Attempt

WILMETTE, IL — Cook County prosecutors charged three men with burglary after they crashed while fleeing police in a stolen car on Interstate 94, according to Wilmette police.

Police said the trio also tried to carjack a motorist on the expressway near Irving Park Road, so Illinois State Police will pursue attempted vehicular hijacking charges.

An officer dispatched to a burglar alarm at Wilmette Market, 3534 Lake Ave., around 4 a.m. Friday morning saw a Jeep fleeing from the scene and gave chase as it got onto the expressway toward Chicago, police said.

Investigators would later learn that the burglars had made off with about $1,000 worth of cash and more than $6,000 worth of cigarettes from the store, according to Wilmette police.

Police said the officer called off the pursuit after entering Chicago, where he spotted the Jeep crashed against the side wall of the expressway with three people fleeing on foot.

One of the three brandished a gun as they approached a white van and tried to hijack it, but the driver was able to pull away without injury and officers were able to take the three into custody.

Wilmette police reported they found two loaded handguns — one from a carjacker and the second from the scene of the arrest.

According to police, the damaged Jeep had been stolen from Elgin on Dec. 17.

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Joe Jackson, 32, of the 6800 block of South Calumet Avenue, Chicago, faces the most serious Cook County charges so far. Prosecutors charged him with possession of a stolen motor vehicle, unlawful use of a weapon, burglary, aggravated fleeing and eluding and resisting arrest.

Jackson was released on parole in November 2021 after serving less than eight years of a 17-year sentence for a 2014 aggravated vehicular hijacking with a weapon. He also has previous convictions for being in possession of a stolen vehicle and being a felon with a gun in 2011, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

A Wilmette police spokesperson said the department may pursue additional charges against Jackson, who was was ordered jailed ahead of his next court date Feb. 27 until he could deposit the $8,000 cash portion of his bond.

Diamantae Joiner, 20, of the 9000 block of South Elizabeth Street, Chicago, and Kayson A. Smith, 18, of the 13700 block of South Parnell Avenue, Riverside, were both charged with one count of burglary, police said.

Joiner was able to post the $1,000 portion of his bond, but Smith remained jailed as of Tuesday because he had not posted the $1,500 cash required to secure his pretrial release. They are both due back in court Feb. 27.

Earlier: Fleeing Burglars Try To Carjack Driver On Expressway After Crash, Police Say