CHICAGO — Prosecutors say a 20-year-old man on probation for a weapons violation attacked, robbed and tried to carjack an Uber driver over the summer, but the hijacking failed because he didn’t know how to start her Tesla.
Officials alleged that Tyrone Kirkman and an accomplice targeted the 30-year-old rideshare driver in the 4900 block of West Race just three months after Kirkman was placed on “initial probation as a weapons offender” for a weapons charge.
About 1:15 a.m. on July 24, two men gave the driver hand signals to move forward when she arrived on the block, and one of them opened her passenger door, according to a Chicago police report. The man took her phone and wallet and ordered her out of the car, the report said. The other man then opened the driver’s side door and beat her until she got out.
Prosecutors said the men tried to drive away with her Tesla, but they gave up and ran because they didn’t know how to start it. Investigators tracked the victim’s stolen phone to an address in the 4900 block of West Erie.
After a months-long investigation, police presented the woman with a photo lineup and she chose Kirkman as one of the hijackers, prosecutors said. Officers recently arrested Kirkman as he left the Erie Street home where the victim’s phone had previously pinged, the police report said.
Judge David Kelly granted the state’s request to detain Kirkman pending trial. He is charged with theft, attempted vehicle hijacking and unlawful restraint.
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