Car hijacking leads to arrest of six

By Gus Bode

Four juveniles and two adults are in custody following the hijacking of a woman’s mini van in the University Mall parking lot at 5:21 p.m. Monday.

Carbondale Police say the hijacking occurred when six people approached the woman’s car in the parking lot of Montgomery Ward’s and said they were having car trouble.

The 37-year-old woman, who is a Pomona resident and was shopping at the mall, agreed to take the group to a gasoline station. But when the woman refused to take the suspects to a different location, one suspect reportedly put the woman into a choke hold while another hit her over the head with an unknown object.

Advertisement

The woman then struggled with the suspects and ran from the car. She called the Carbondale Police Department from a local shop in the mall.

There were no witnesses to the hijacking and no injuries to the victim or the suspects.

The six suspects then drove the car away from the scene, and the car was recovered in a field near Stafford Street, one mile east of University Mall, 1237 E. Main St.

Tameka Patrice Pogue, 17, of Carbondale, and Lavar Burton Canada, 17, of Carbondale, were arrested Monday and taken to the Jackson County Jail in Murphysboro.

Pogue was charged with aggravated vehicular hijacking and is being held in Jackson County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bond.

Canada was charged with aggravated vehicular hijacking, possession of a stolen vehicle and residential burglary. A total of $75,000 bond was set against Canada, with $50,000 for the aggravated hijacking and stolen vehicle charges and $25,000 for the unrelated residential burglary charge.

The four juveniles, two male and two female, are being held in juvenile detention.

Advertisement*

Pogue and a female juvenile were found walking in the 1500 block of East Walnut Street. Canada, a female juvenile and two male juveniles were located later between the 200 and 400 blocks of South Lake Heights.

Police Community Resource Officer Jeff Vaughn said there was no chase by police and no apparent motive for the crime.

Pogue and Canada made their first court appearance at the Jackson County Courthouse Tuesday. They were both appointed a public defender, and a court date was set for 9 a.m. Sept. 17. Neither Canada nor Pogue posted bond.

The last known hijacking in Carbondale was March 21, 1996.

Advertisement