Cops break from lunch to stop car thief
July 31, 2010 10:12 PM
Officers who were in line at a restaurant waiting to pay for lunch cut short their break Friday night and caught a teenager who had just stolen a car from the restaurant's parking lot, Chicago police said tonight.
The 17-year-old now faces a felony charge of possession of a stolen vehicle after the members of the Mobile Strike Force caught up with him a little more than two miles from the restaurant, according to a police news release.
The officers were in a restaurant with a supervisor in the 1500 block of West Taylor Street about 9:20 p.m. Friday, waiting in line to pay for their lunch, when employees at the restaurant told them an auto had just been stolen from the restaurant's rear parking lot, police said.
After getting a description of the car and the two teens who may have taken it, the officers left the restaurant, police said. The officers also found out the auto owner was being driven by a coworker, following the vehicle, according to the release.
The officers caught up with the auto owner and his coworker as they followed the stolen vehicle, as all drove in the 1300 block of South Albany Avenue, and activated their emergency lights and sirens, police said. The teen and a younger boy, 14, jumped out of the car and ran off, but they were caught after a short foot chase, police said.
The 17-year-old, who was driving when the auto was found, also faces a misdemeanor battery citation and several traffic citations, according to police. The younger teen was cited in a juvenile delinquency petition with criminal trespass to vehicle.
Although under Illinois law 17 year olds charged with felonies are tried as adults, the Chicago Police Department does not release the names of juveniles accused of crimes, so the 17-year-old name and address information were unavailable this evening.
--Staff report
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