Lake County Gazette

The Lake County Sheriff's Office has taken three men into custody, who are now facing charges following a targeted carjacking incident on May 7 in Long Grove.

According to a news release from the Lake County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a call at 1 p.m. on May 7 regarding an initial report of a disturbance at Route 53 and Long Grove Road in Long Grove. The Sheriff's 911 telecommunicators discovered that the incident was an aggravated vehicular hijacking. Deputies confirmed this upon arriving at the scene.

The release detailed that deputies determined the victim, a 36-year-old man from Plainfield, was driving a box truck northbound on Route 53 when it was rear-ended by a U-Haul truck. After exiting his vehicle to speak with the U-Haul driver, two additional offenders arrived in a minivan. The three suspects coordinated to pepper-spray the victim and steal his box truck. Each suspect then fled in different vehicles: the minivan, the U-Haul, and the stolen box truck.

According to the release, this incident appears to have been an organized plan to steal the box truck, which contained electronics.

The stolen box truck was located near the 1500 block of Pershing Road in Chicago with assistance from the Chicago Police Department. The three suspects were apprehended by Chicago Police and held in Cook County.

The release further said that the Lake County State's Attorney's Office collaborated with Lake County Sheriff's Detectives to obtain arrest warrants for the suspects. Charges against Anthony A. Long, 23; Brence C. Dancy, 31; and Christopher R. Lewis, 27 include aggravated vehicular hijacking—a Class X Felony—and additional charges of aggravated battery against Long—a Class 3 felony. The suspects were expected to be transferred from Cook County to Lake County this week. All defendants are considered innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.