Two teenage illegal immigrants from Guatemala allegedly carjacked an elderly Navy veteran who was shopping at Walmart.
The teens, ages 16 and 17, reportedly walked way from the Maryville Academy in Des Plaines, Illinois, the Chicago-area facility where they were being housed after being detained trying to cross the Mexican border into the U.S.
Upon escaping from the facility early Wednesday morning, they allegedly first carjacked an employee of a nearby nursing home in Des Plaines. The nursing home employee was pushed out of her car but was uninjured in the encounter. They used her vehicle to drive about 165 miles to a Walmart where they accosted the 91-year-old veteran and demanded his keys.
According to the Daily Mail , “Police say they targeted an elderly man in Moline, Illinois, who was picking up his prescription at Walmart. They threatened him with violence, forced him out of his car, and then sped off with his Buick LeSabre.”
Cops caught up with the suspects near Iowa City, Iowa, which was about 80 miles from the scene of the Walmart carjacking. “The suspects rammed a vehicle as they left the parking lot and headed west on Interstate 80, authorities said. Some 20 miles west of Iowa City, police set up stop sticks, which blew out the tires of the Buick,” the Chicago Daily Herald reported . The teens reportedly were headed to California.
Commenting about the veteran’s ordeal, Moline detective Scott Williams explained that “They obviously chose him to take his vehicle. He walked with a cane. They watched him go in and get his medication from the VA. He was pretty rattled. He’s 91. But they didn’t physically assault him.” The detective added , “I mean the 91-year-old veteran was a little shook up but actually he did everything right when he gave them the car. He didn’t try to fight ’em.”
The suspects were being held in Iowa City pending extradition to Illinois, where they will face criminal charges.
The Guatemalan duo had claimed refugee status, which makes them eligible, at least eventually, for a hearing in the massively backlogged immigration courts.
In the meantime, after being temporarily held in detention facilities, the federal government has been releasing most of the tens of thousands of Central American unaccompanied minors and others who have illegally surged across the border to relatives or foster families in the U.S.
In June, based on Capitol Hill sources, the Washington Examiner claimed that 90 percent of primarily teenage illegal immigrants won’t appear for their immigration court hearings, “meaning at least 135,000 of the youths will simply vanish into the country this year alone.” Moreover, seven out of ten illegal alien families apprehended at the Mexican border apparently never show up for their appointments with federal immigration agents after being let go by the Border Patrol, according to information obtained by the Associated Press.
A separate account from the Associated Press has indicated that deportations have decreased by 20 percent from last year and could hit a seven-year low. Moreover, a report published at Breitbart News suggests that the Obama administration will no longer prosecute first-time illegal immigrants. In 2012, President Obama, without obtaining the approval of Congress, suspended the deportation of about one million illegal immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. He has also vowed to unilaterally implement some form of amnesty for illegal aliens after the November elections.
In 2014, the government is said to be spending about $900 million to house and resettle the unaccompanied minors.
As a result of the carjacking, the feds have ordered a security audit of all immigrant shelters including the Maryville Academy.
[image via Bing]