Natalia Chi
CHICAGO — Prosecutors say the would-be carjacker was unable to steal the victim’s car because he didn’t know how to drive a stick shift. Chicago police were able to track him down because he fled the scene with the victim’s key, which had an AirTag attached to it.
Andrew Moran, 25, was charged with hijacking a vehicle and aggravated battery of security forces during a court hearing Saturday afternoon. ordered to be released under surveillance.
Moran allegedly knocked on the driver’s door around 12:25 p.m. Friday when the victim was sitting in a strip mall parking lot on the 4800 block in North Milwaukee.
Prosecutors said Moran put his left hand in his jacket pocket and told the victim to get out as he needed to get in the car. A woman who believed Moran had a gun in his jacket pocket, she went outside and called police from a nearby store.
According to prosecutors, while she was seeking help, Moran had trouble getting the Audi A3 to work because she didn’t know how to drive a stick shift. As the police sirens grew louder, he gave up and fled. Prosecutors said surveillance cameras recorded the carjacking attempt.
Officers tracking the woman’s key fob noticed it traveling along the blue line. Officers intercepted an inbound train at Addison station and arrested Moran. They said they found the woman’s key fob inside the train, and another passenger allegedly told them Moran had dropped it when he arrived at the scene.
Prosecutors also accused Moran of spitting in an officer’s face and kicking another officer during the arrest and at the police station.
His public defender said he has three children and may be experiencing mental health issues after recent head surgery.
