CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Chicago man suspected in carjacking spree may have mental health issues, lawyer says

Chicago Tribune - 5/1/2018

May 01--A Chicago man facing up to 25 years in prison on federal charges stemming from an attempted carjacking on the city's Near North Side may have mental health issues, his lawyer said Tuesday in court .

Earrious Moore, 23, was arrested in the lobby of a high-rise Gold Coast building Thursday after an alleged crime spree that began with the shooting of his brother on the West Side, according to police and court records.

Over the next two hours, Chicago police say Moore wounded two other people, committed four carjackings at gunpoint -- including against an undercover Chicago police officer -- and tried to pull off two more before he was caught.

During his initial court appearance Tuesday, Moore spoke so softly that U.S. Magistrate Judge Sidney Schenkier had to ask him several times to repeat himself. When the judge asked him if he understood that the carjacking charge carried up to a 25-year sentence, Moore, dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit, whispered, "Yes."

His lawyer, Lisa Wood, told the judge she had "pretty serious concerns" about Moore's mental health and that she may ask for a psychiatric evaluation before his next court appearance. Moore was ordered held in custody pending a preliminary hearing and possible detention hearing on May 24.

After the brief hearing, relatives called out, "We love you!" from the courtroom gallery. One woman telling Moore, "Keep your head up!"

After Moore shot and wounded his brother at their home on West Adams Street on Thursday afternoon, he carjacked a red Jeep a few blocks away in the 5200 block of West Jackson Boulevard and sped off, according to Chicago police.

Around 5:15 p.m. he stopped about six miles away, in the 1100 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, and carjacked a silver Jaguar at gunpoint. Five minutes later, the suspect crashed the Jaguar in the 500 block of West Chicago Avenue in the Near North neighborhood. He then carjacked the undercover officer in her SUV, a black Ford Escape, in the 800 block of North Hudson Avenue, authorities said.

After ditching the Ford in the Gold Coast neighborhood, Moore allegedly approached the driver of a black Nissan Altima and tried to steal the car but ended up shooting the 37-year-old man in the shoulder and running away, according to police. The suspect then ran to the 1000 block of North Rush Street -- not far from some such well-known restaurants and bars as Gibson's steakhouse and Tavern On Rush -- and carjacked a black Jeep at gunpoint.

The federal charges allege Moore drove the Jeep a few blocks to the inner portion of the 1400 block of North Lake Shore Drive in the Gold Coast. There, he tried to carjack an 84-year-old man who was in a black Mercedes, but the man resisted and was shot in the shoulder.

Chicago police arrested Moore after he ran into the lobby of a high-rise condominium building on Lake Shore Drive. He was found with a .40-caliber semiautomatic Smith and Wesson pistol, according to the charges.

Moore's case was handled by the Vehicular Hijacking Task Force, a joint team of Chicago and state police, federal agents and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office that was formed in response to a spike in carjackings in 2017.

The uptick has continued this year. Records show that through April 19, 232 carjackings were recorded in the city, two more than during the same period in 2017.

Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has said the task force and interaction with federal investigators has resulted in more carjacking cases being brought in federal court.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

___

(c)2018 the Chicago Tribune

Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.