4th suspect arrested in Park Forest armed vehicle hijacking case

A fourth suspect charged with the May 29 armed hijacking of a disabled veteran’s vehicle in Park Forest was apprehended in Frankfort after he tried to flee from officers and deceive them with a fake name.

About 12:20 a.m. Tuesday, Demarco Dillon, 21, of South Holland, was a passenger in a Jeep Cherokee that was pulled over by police in Frankfort for traveling 18 mph above the 40-mph speed limit, Frankfort Deputy Police Chief Kevin Keegan said.

Dillon was wanted by police for his alleged role in the four-person hijacking of a disabled veteran’s Dodge Charger on May 29 in the Will County portion of Park Forest.

After the Jeep Cherokee was pulled over, Dillon, who was in the front passenger seat, fled on foot toward Freddy’s Frozen Custard, Keegan said.

“Other officers were notified, and a perimeter was established,” Keegan said.

Shortly afterward, Dillon was found on the south side of Ace Hardware, near Freddy’s Frozen Custard, and he was detained.

Officers retraced Dillon’s footprints in the snow, which led them to a firearm near Freddy’s Custard that was fully loaded with a round in the chamber, Keegan said.

Prosecutors identified that gun as a Rock Island Armory .45-caliber handgun and charged Dillon with unlawfully possessing it because he was convicted of armed robbery in Lake County, Indiana.

Keegan said Dillon also provided officers with a fake name. Prosecutors said the name Dillon gave to police was Jamaree D. Riley.

Dillon is the fourth suspect arrested in the May 29 vehicle hijacking case in Park Forest.

The other suspects who were arrested were Devonte Mauldin, Zhaquez White and a male juvenile.

The hijacking occurred at 4:30 p.m. May 29, when a disabled veteran was parking his vehicle in his garage, Park Forest Police Chief Paul Winfrey said.

At that time, two masked suspects brandished handguns with extended magazines and demanded his vehicle and cellphone, Winfrey said. The victim complied, and the suspects left the area.

Mauldin and the juvenile were the first two suspects arrested after an investigation by Park Forest police detectives.

“During a subsequent investigation that involved numerous search warrants and hours of combing through records, recordings and other data, Park Forest detectives identified Dillon and White as being participants in the carjacking,” Winfrey said.

Dillon and Mauldin are in the Will County jail on $2.5 million bonds each. White’s bond is set at $2.6 million.

Winfrey said his department would like to “remind criminals that we will do everything possible to arrest and charge individuals who commit violent crimes in Park Forest.”

“Sometimes it may take days or weeks or months, but justice will be served,” Winfrey said.