Five Ilinois teens are facing murder charges after a 14-year-old boy who was with them during an attempted robbery was shot and killed by the homeowner, according to police.
According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, six teens traveled together in a stolen Lexus on early Tuesday morning, then stopped at a home in Old Mill Creek, owned by a 75-year-old man. The homeowner told police he heard noises outside of his home and when he walked out to investigate, he saw several people by his Audi.
The homeowner told police he yelled at the people to leave when a young male walked toward him quickly while holding an object.
“At least one of the male subjects advanced toward him with an unknown object in his hand,” officials posted on Facebook.
The elderly man said he feared for his life and shot at the suspects with a small caliber revolver. A bullet struck the 14-year-old in the head.
The suspects fled afterward, leaving a knife behind at the scene, according to police. Authorities located the Lexus when it pulled up to a crash scene around three miles down the road.
Two of the suspects got out of the vehicle. One of them, the 14-year-old, had an obvious gunshot wound to the head. Authorities rushed the boy by ambulance to the hospital while the other suspect was arrested.
Meanwhile, the four remaining suspects fled in the Lexus, leading police on a high-speed chase that ended when the car ran out of gas. The teens fled on foot but authorities caught them “pretty quickly,” according to Detective Sgt. Chris Covelli.
The teens, ages 16 to 18, were charged with murder “due to them being in commission of a forcible felony, when the 14-year-old victim was shot and subsequently died as a result of being shot during the commission of a burglary,” police said in a news release.
The suspects will face adult charges, according to police. However, four of them are being held at the Hulse Juvenile Detention Facility in Vernon Township.
**Update: Five Teens Charged as Adults**Following a thorough investigation, it was determined the six teens traveled…
Posted by Lake County IL Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, August 13, 2019
According to the Daily Herald, the teens have been identified as:
- Steven Davis, 17
- Stacy Davis, 17
- Kendrick Cooper, 17
- Diamond Davis, 18
- Curtis Dawson, 16
The 14-year-old who died has been identified as Jaquan Swopes, a cousin of the suspects.
“We have been in close contact with Jaquan’s family and our deepest condolences go out to them during this difficult time,” Lake County Coroner Dr. Howard Cooper said during a Wednesday news release. “This is truly a tragedy.”
A judge ordered all suspects to be held on a $1 million bond each. Their next scheduled court hearing is September 5.
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[Feature Photo: Pixabay]
