Cornered in a basement by police, a man suspected of stealing a car at gunpoint and leading police on a chase that prompted a lockdown at a Northwestern University medical campus put his hands in the air and said, “I give up,” prosecutors said Wednesday.
The gun Trimane Kimbrough allegedly used in Monday’s carjacking had been tossed on the floor of the red Mazda he had stolen an hour earlier in West Rogers Park and ditched on the campus, according to police.
Kimbrough, 19, faces charges of aggravated vehicular hijacking, unlawful use of a weapon, criminal trespass to property and leaving the scene.
He is also charged with driving the stolen car while his license was suspended, which Judge Mary Marubio said was “the least of her concerns” before ordering the teen held without bail.
Most worrisome to the judge was that Kimbrough allegedly pointed a loaded handgun at a 37-year-old man who was double-parked in the 2000 block of West Arthur Avenue.
Kimbrough drove off in the man’s Mazda, followed by a gray Saturn that had dropped the teen off in the block moments earlier, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said in court. The Mazda was spotted about half an hour later on DuSable Lake Shore Drive and officers used squad cars to block in the sedan near Chicago Avenue, Murphy said.
Kimbrough got out and took off running, leaving the Mazda in gear so it hit a police cruiser, Murphy said.
After running through Lake Shore Park, Kimbrough ran inside a school building at 420 E. Superior St., before officers lost sight of him, prompting a lockdown, Murphy said.
The officers found Kimbrough walking in a basement hallway about 2 p.m., still wearing some of the clothes he was seen wearing at the time of the carjacking, Murphy said. Other articles of clothing were found scattered in the building, and a Smith and Wesson handgun was recovered from the Mazda, Murphy said.
A review of Kimbrough’s cellphone data showed he was texting while on the run from officers and had received messages from someone that read, “Try to get low” and “Change yo clothes,” Murphy added.
Aside from traffic violations that led to his license being suspended, Kimbrough had no other criminal history, Murphy said. The Saturn, which was also stolen, hasn’t been recovered.
Defense attorney Michael Solock noted that no one was hurt in either incident and that Kimbrough’s lack of criminal history showed he was not a danger to the community and should be given bail.
The teen lives with his mother and is a lifelong resident of the city, the attorney added.
But Judge Marubio said Kimbrough’s alleged use of a gun and running from police indicated he was a danger and denied him bail, noting that the teen had “caused chaos” at the school building while officers were searching for him.
He was expected back in court May 11.
