A second suspect, who is also facing separate shooting charges, has been charged as an adult in a violent carjacking of a pregnant mother who was run over and had her child abducted near Libertyville.
Jacorey N. McKnight, 19, of Waukegan, was initially charged as a juvenile but recently had his case transferred, charging him as an adult with one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking with a child passenger, vehicular hijacking and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm.
A second suspect, Devion M. Washington, 20, of Waukegan, was also initially charged as a juvenile but had his case transferred to adult court charging him with one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking with a child passenger, vehicular hijacking and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffery Facklam said McKnight and Washington, along with other suspects, were involved in a violent carjacking where Taylor Shepherd, who was 34 at the time and approximately six months pregnant, was the victim on February 23, 2023.
Shepherd pulled into her driveway in the 16000 block of West Buckley Road in unincorporated Libertyville.
She briefly entered her house with one of her children and a dog, Facklam said.
The victim exited her home to retrieve her other child, a two-year-old, who was inside her 2021 Volkswagen Atlas when she observed an unknown suspect enter the driver’s seat of her vehicle.
Facklam said the suspect put the vehicle in drive and Shepherd attempted to enter the vehicle but was thrown from the car and run over by the rear tire.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said that Shepherd was also battered by the suspect.
Shepherd underwent multiple surgeries for her serious traumatic injuries and was hospitalized for weeks. Shepherd later gave birth on June 26, 2023, to her baby, Noah Collin, who was healthy and thriving.
The Volkswagen fled the area with Shepherd’s small child still in the back seat of the car, Facklam said.
Covelli told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that one of the detectives immediately called Volkswagen Car-Net because he knew the stolen vehicle had a GPS locator.
The detective called the emergency number and explained the circumstances.
The employee looked up the VIN and confirmed the vehicle could be tracked but declined to do so because the trial period for the software in the car had ended.
Detectives had to get a credit card to pay Volkswagen. The entire process added a 30-minute delay, Covelli said.
The child was ultimately located safe by a bystander in Waukegan after being dropped off in a business parking lot. The stolen Volkswagen was located in a parking lot near Casimir Pulaski and Route 43 in Waukegan.
Investigators determined a white BMW that had been stolen from Waukegan Auto Auction several days prior was also involved in the incident, Facklam said.
The BMW had a portion of the rear bumper missing. Video from the Uline parking lot, which is where the child was located, showed the Volkswagen being followed by the white BMW.
The BMW was also later recovered. Investigators were able to identify Washington and McKnight as two of the people involved, Facklam said.
Cell phone evidence linking the juveniles to multiple locations was obtained.
The suspects’ cell phones placed them at or near the scene of the carjacking, in the Uline parking lot when the child was dropped off and at the location where the Volkswagen was recovered, Facklam said.
Phone records showed that Washington and McKnight called each other approximately five times on the day of the crime, with multiple calls taking place around the time of the carjacking.
Facklam said Washington’s phone pinged off a cell tower in the early morning hours of February 23, 2023, at a time and location when the white BMW was captured on video in Waukegan.
Cell phone records also showed that McKnight had his cellphone ping off a tower near the location of Waukegan Auto Auction around the same time the car was stolen, Facklam said.
Photos were found on McKnight’s cell phone of the white BMW and he had tried selling the stolen vehicle.
McKnight admitted to being in the area of the hijacking and said he was in the white BMW, which was the “chase car,” Facklam said.
Investigators do not know whether McKnight or Washington was the one who actually committed the carjacking and ran over Shepherd but they are both charged based on accountability, Facklam said.
Covelli said both suspects, who were 17 years old at the time, were charged as juveniles in January, nearly two years following the incident. Their identities were not initially released since they were charged in juvenile court.
“The investigation spanned several months due to the complexity of the case and the thorough work required to build a strong evidentiary foundation. Detectives pursued dozens of leads, meticulously reviewing hours of video surveillance, physical evidence reports, and cellular tower data,” Covelli said.
Washington’s case was transferred to adult court in late August and McKnight’s case was transferred to adult court late last month.
Washington had been held in the Lake County Jail since June 2023 on charges of first-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old man in the 500 block of South Genesee Street in Waukegan on June 8, 2023.
Facklam said Washington and a second suspect stopped their vehicle outside of an apartment and began firing guns at a group of people standing in front of one of the apartments.
“This incident happened less than 4 months after the carjacking. These two violent incidents within a short period of time prove that the defendant is dangerous,” Facklam said.
“There is no conditions or combination of conditions that can mitigate the defendant’s threat to the community. Both of the defendants charged cases happened in daylight at a person’s home. In this case, the defendant and his co-defendant had no regard for the safety of the victim as they used violence to steal her car. In the first degree murder case, the defendant [Washington] and another shot in the direction of multiple people. While one was killed, numerous others were put in danger,” Facklam said.
McKnight was also already being held in the Lake County Jail since July 2024 for allegedly shooting a person in North Chicago on May 29, 2024.
A judge ordered Washington and McKnight to remain detained following detention hearings in the carjacking case that were held on Tuesday.
Washington is scheduled to appear in court again on December 18 for a case management conference and McKnight is scheduled to appear in court on December 18 for a preliminary hearing.