RACINE — A carjacking by gunpoint, followed by a high-speed chase last week led two a pair of felony charges against a 19-year-old homeless Racine man.
Cornelius T. Evans remains in custody in the Racine County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond. He is charged with felony carjacking, which carries a maximum prison term of 40 years and a $100,000 fine, along with a felony count of attempting to flee/elude an officer, which carries a maximum prison term of three years, six months and a $10,000 fine.
The criminal complaint: carjacking at gunpoint followed by high-speed chase
A woman told police she was in front of The Neighborhood Bar, 2002 Erie St., when a black truck pulled near her. A rear male passenger, dressed all in black, exited, pointed a firearm directly at her and ordered her out of her vehicle.
The woman stated she was extremely scared, put her hands up, exited her 2023 BMW and ran into the bar to call police. The defendant, along with a driver in the truck he arrived in, fled the area, the complaint states.
Police located the BMW involved in the carjacking at High Street and North Memorial Drive, and when an officer attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver fled at a high rate of speed heading northbound. Police eventually lost sight of the vehicle on Mount Pleasant Street.
Officers from three jurisdictions, a drone operator and a K9 unit were called to conduct a “grid search” of the area in an attempt to locate the vehicle involved in the carjacking, which was found in the area of the 2800 block of Jean Avenue in Racine County.
Police eventually found Evans sitting in a minivan that was in the rear yard of a residence on Jean Avenue, two houses away from where the BMW was located, the complaint states. Evans told police he had been in the minivan the past four hours before police woke him up, but officers told him they know he lives with his sister in the area near where he was found.
During a search of the area, police found a 9mm handgun that appeared to have been thrown over a fence into Batten Airfield, which is directly north of where the BMW had been found. Police believed the gun had just recently been thrown there, because everything outside was covered in frost or moisture, but the gun was not.
Evans is due back in court on Jan. 18, for a 9 a.m. preliminary hearing.
Police & Fire
Stay up to date with crime, emergency, felony and other police encounters. The Racine County Eye and Kenosha Lens is your source for local news that serves our diverse communities. Subscribe today and never miss a beat. Visit our Police & Fire section to read more.
Follow us on Facebook: Racine County Eye or Kenosha Lens, and Twitter to make sure you get the latest news.
Racine County Eye and Kenosha Lens – Journalism that serves.
