Five teens arrested in carjacking in Peoria
PEORIA− Five of six teens accused of carjacking a woman Monday at a parking deck at UnityPoint-Health Methodist Hospital have been arrested, Peoria police said.
Three were arrested after police saw the vehicle Monday night and two more were arrested Wednesday after police staked out a house. All were taken to the county's Juvenile Detention Center. One person remains at large.
Officers were called the hospital's parking deck, located at 221 NE Glen Oak Ave., around 9:34 p.m. on a report of a woman who had been assaulted. When police arrived, the woman told them she had been getting items from her car in the deck when a group of teens approached her and asked if she needed help.
When she said no, she was knocked to the ground and struck several times about the head and on her body, causing cuts to her hands and face. The teens took her purse, keys and car and fled the area.
Just after 10 p.m., while on patrol, an officer saw the hijacked vehicle in the 2200 block of North Knoxville Avenue. The vehicle began driving erratically, passing cars in oncoming lanes of traffic, according to Peoria police spokeswoman Amy Dotson.
A sergeant attempted to stop the car but it did not stop, and a pursuit began. It ended in the 2900 block of St. Philomena when the driver bailed out of the car, which kept rolling and struck a light pole, police said. The other five in the car fled on foot.
More:Coroner identifies Peoria man found dead with gunshot wound
Three were arrested shortly afterward and a handgun was recovered at the scene. Two boys, both 15, were booked on charges of possession of a stolen motor vehicle and obstructing police. A 17-year-old girl was booked on charges of aggravated vehicular hijacking and obstructing police.
On Wednesday, police went to a house in Peoria that was associated with the teens. They arrested two girls, ages 17 and 15, for aggravated vehicular hijacking. The 17-year-old also faced the charge of motor vehicle theft conspiracy.
More:A Peoria man is found guilty of killing his father
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Peoria Police Department at (309) 673-4521, tip411 (anonymously), or Crime Stoppers (anonymously) at (309) 673-9000.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: 5 teens arrested in connection with carjacking at Peoria hospital
