CHICAGO – Two men are in the Cook County Jail, accused of carjacking an Uber Eats driver near Goose Island. And they can thank one of Chicago’s most effective apprehension partnerships: a CPD helicopter and Illinois State Police ground units.
Prosecutors said the 25-year-old delivery driver was targeted while sitting in his 2016 Toyota sedan in the 800 block of West Blackhawk on Sunday, December 8, around 8:45 p.m.
According to a Chicago police report, Tayvon Andrews and David Brantley, both 18 years old, approached the car and ordered the driver to leave as Andrews displayed a gun. The victim complied and the hijackers, Brantley behind the wheel and Andrews in the passenger seat, sped away.
It didn’t take long for the CPD helicopter to find the newly stolen Toyota. Along with two ISP troops, the air and ground team pursued the hijackers until the Toyota crashed at 87th and State Streets around 9:45 p.m., the police report said. Troopers arrested Andrews and Brantley at the scene and turned them over to CPD.
According to the state’s detention request, Brantley has an active stolen motor vehicle case in juvenile court. It had warrant status at the time of the hijacking, meaning he had not complied with the court’s conditions.
Both men are charged with hijacking vehicles with a firearm and possession of a stolen motor vehicle, both felonies, and resisting felonies. Brantley is also charged with two counts of aggravated fleeing.
A judge ordered both men held pending trial, but the court registry contains conflicting information about which judge signed the orders.
In the wake of the millions of dollars in lawsuits paid out due to injuries and deaths when police chases ended in crashes, CPD leaders strongly discourage street officers from engaging in pursuits. But the CPD’s helicopter unit has stepped in to fill the void by regularly locating and tracking getaway vehicles from the air. ISP units, which are not as risk-averse as the CPD, occasionally attack the fleeing vehicles on the ground. At other times, officers shadow the getaway cars on parallel streets, avoiding a pursuit while still being close when the wanted vehicles park or crash on their own.
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