A Waukegan woman is facing charges of attempted vehicle carjacking after using a metal pole to threaten a person before breaking open the front door of a car dealership and stealing the keys to a Lexus, authorities said.
Shabrel Wester, 29, has been charged with felony attempted carjacking, felony possession of a stolen automobile, felony theft and a misdemeanor count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for attempting to carjack a vehicle then breaking into Elite Motors in the 100 block of Green Bay Road to steal a Lexus, court records show.
Wester is being detained in Lake County jail after Lake County Circuit Court Judge Theodore Potkonjak ruled to hold the woman until trial at a detention hearing May 23 .
Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney Mary Vukovich said during the detention hearing an employee of Elite Motors was sitting in his car before clocking in to work at about 7 a.m. on Wednesday, May 22, when Wester walked up and told him to give her the keys to his car and money for gas.
The employee ignored her and she momentarily walked away, Vukovich said, only to come back minutes later carrying a metal pole. She again repeated the command to give her the keys to the car and money for gas.
Wester began pulling on the door handle of the vehicle before brandishing the pole with two hands and looking like she was about to hit the car window, Vukovich said.
At that point, the employee rolled down the window and told Wester he had a child in the car, Vukovich said.
The statement prompted Wester to respond that she would kill the child if he didn’t give her the keys to the car and gas money, Vukovich said.
Wester then questioned if anyone was inside the car dealership, Vukovich said. When the employee answered in the affirmative, Wester walked away.
Vukovich said the employee took the opportunity to drive away to a safe location and called police.
Waukegan police arrived on the scene moments later and, while talking with the employee, heard over the radio a blue Lexus with an unknown driver refused to pull over for police in North Chicago, Vukovich said.
The victim then returned to Elite Motors and saw the front door of the business and an office window where car keys are contained had been smashed open, Vukovich said.
At that point, the employee told police another employee at Elite Motors was the owner of a blue Lexus.
Officers determined the vehicle involved in the police pursuit in North Chicago was the same vehicle missing from Elite Motors, Vukovich said. The police chase had ended without the suspect being apprehended.
Using an app keyed to the stolen Lexus, officers tracked the location of the vehicle to the 2800 block of North Pine Tree Lane where they found the blue Lexus and the metal pole on the front passenger seat, Vukovich said.
Police spoke with a family member at the address and discovered Wester had just arrived at the home.
She was placed under arrest, was identified by the employee, and the key for the Lexus was recovered, Vukovich said.
During her arrest, Wester admitted to the family member she had stolen the car from Elite Motors, officials said.
Wester appeared in bond court Wednesday, May 22, and was ordered held pending the detention hearing where Potkonjak ordered her detained until trial.
Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Scott Chastain said estimated damage to Elite Motors to be in excess of $4,000.
Wester is due back in court on June 12 for a preliminary hearing.