4-Jun-20 – Eight people who initially escaped a police pursuit early Monday were arrested two hours later when police saw them drive their distinctive U-Haul pickup truck into the 18th district police station parking lot in River North.

It started around 3:20 a.m. when police saw suspected looters inside Walgreens at 641 North Clark Street. Police arrested two people at the scene, but the others fled. Some got into the U-Haul truck, which struck an officer, then sped through the neighborhood and headed onto the Kennedy Expressway.

The officer’s injuries were not life-threatening. (Left) The damaged U-Haul truck at rest in Greektown.

A police supervisor ordered officers to terminate the pursuit as the chase neared Randolph Street. A police department source said officers seized a Kia automobile – that the suspects abandoned at the Walgreens – and drove it to the 18th district police station at 1160 North Larrabee Street.

Just after 5:00 a.m., officers at the police station saw the U-Haul truck in their parking lot. They believe the offenders drove to the station in the U-Haul so they could abscond with the seized Kia.

Police launched two vehicle pursuits – chasing the U-Haul back onto the Kennedy and chasing the Kia onto Inner Lake Shore Drive. Officers arrested three occupants of the truck after it crashed near Halsted & Monroe in Greektown a short time later. Three others were arrested after the Kia was curbed on East Illinois Street less than a block from Michigan Avenue.

According to a CPD source, as the U-Haul truck sped around the police station parking lot, a Walgreens cash register fell out of the truck bed.

Misdemeanor trespassing charges have been filed against Klenshaye Little, age 23, of Bellwood, Illinois; Zhariana McNeal, age 21, of Kenosha, Wisconsin; Isaish Tate, age 22, of Glenview, Illinois; and Paul Tate, age 22, of Des Plaines, Illinois.

Charges are pending against four others, according to a police department spokesperson.

Arrest of man suspected of setting police car on fire on State Street

A Chicago man was arrested on Tuesday on a federal arson charge for allegedly setting on fire a Chicago Police Department vehicle during riots on Saturday.

Timothy O’Donnell (right), age 31, is accused of placing a lit object into the gas tank of the marked but unoccupied police vehicle that was parked on State Street between Wacker Drive and Lake Street. That caused the vehicle to ignite in flames, producing smoke that was visible for miles.

O’Donnell set the fire while wearing a “joker” mask that partially covered his face, according to the United States Attorney’s Office, but did not cover a tattoo on his neck, which helped authorities identify him.

(Left) Cropped version of an image, with a watermark that reads “Gvrciv Photos,” showing a man in a “joker” mask setting fire to a police vehicle next to the Kemper Building on North State Street. The image was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“Anyone involved in destructive behavior – such as setting fire to a police car – should know that federal law enforcement will use all tools available to us to hold them accountable,” said U.S. Attorney John Lausch, Jr. “We will continue to work with the Chicago Police Department and our federal and state partners to apprehend and charge arsonists and others engaging in violent crime.”

The arson charge, if O’Donnell is convicted, is punishable by a minimum of five years in a federal prison.

Rioters took fight to North Side on Monday

With downtown Chicago sealed off on Monday, looting expanded to other neighborhoods, with shops in Wicker Park taking a big hit.

There were multiple reports of looting early Monday in Lake View and Lincoln Park. Police in those North Side neighborhoods made hundreds of arrests and recovered at least three handguns.

There were so many arrests that station lockups in the 1st and 18th police districts, serving the Loop and neighborhoods north of the Loop, reached capacity and detainees had to be hauled to Area 3 police headquarters at Belmont & Western for processing.

(Right) Contractors with CLM Midwest repair a riot-damaged window at the CVS Pharmacy on Kinzie Street in River North on Sunday. Photo by Holly Lipschultz.