CHICAGO – Prosecutors charged a man this summer with carjacking a driver and then shooting a witness who was chasing the hijacked vehicle. Akyreian Anders, 18, is the third person charged in connection with the Aug. 30 hijacking in the 8100 block of South Escabana.
Officers responding to a ShotSpotter in the 8300 block of South Exchange around 8:13 p.m. discovered a carjacking was also reported nearby, according to a CPD report.
Prosecutors said Anders and 18-year-old Randle Archie and Mercedes Jones carjacked a 37-year-old man’s 2017 Audi Q7 at gunpoint. They alleged Jones lured the victim into the hijacking by telling him she wanted to buy marijuana, according to court records. When the victim arrived, Archie reportedly pointed a gun at the man and the group took the SUV.
After the carjacking, a 41-year-old woman began chasing the carjackers in another vehicle while the victim rode shotgun, officials said. The chase ended when Anders fired shots from the carjacked Audi, grazing the pursuing woman’s shoulder, prosecutors allege.
Police tracked an AirTag connected to the victim’s key fob to locate Archie and Jones moments later. Anders was arrested Thursday to face charges in the case.
Judge Shauna Boliker arrested Anders during a court hearing on Friday. She said Anders’ “brazen acts of extreme violence” made it impossible for her to send him home to await trial. Archie and Jones are still being held in the county jail pending trial.
Original reporting you won’t see anywhere else, paid for by our readers. Click here to support our work.
CWBChicago was founded in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had become discouraged by the inaccurate information presented during local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has since expanded to Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown and other North Side areas. But our mission remains unchanged: to provide original public safety reporting with better context and more detail than mainstream media. Our editorial email address is news@cwbchicago.com
