Gabriella Kennedy (Law Enforcement photo).
A Hoffman Estates teen, Gabriella Kennedy, 18, was ordered held on $125,000 bail Friday on charges she and a female juvenile co-defendant participated in robbing two men at gunpoint in Streamwood, just northeast of the intersection of Sutton Road and Schaumburg Road.
Prosecutors say Kennedy and the younger defendant met the two male victims at a party about a month ago. The girls met the male victims again on August 4, 2016 in Streamwood to smoke marijuana and drive around, according to Cook County assistant state’s attorney Caitlin Casey.
Next, the girls directed the male victims to drive to the 200 block of Kensington Drive to get more marijuana, but two men wearing masks approached the car. The offenders displayed a gun, demanded property from the men in the car, and took a backpack containing marijuana and a cellphone from the men in the car. The masked men also took a purse from one of the girls and a cellphone from the other girl, according to the state’s attorney.
One of the masked men struck one of the male victims while he was in the car, and one of the offenders also fired the gun into the air.
Streamwood detectives discovered messages on a cellphone in which Kennedy and the juvenile communicated robbing the men, according to the state’s attorney.
Kennedy, 5’08” 150 LBS, was charged with armed robbery (no firearm), which is a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
During the bail hearing at Rolling Meadows Cook County Circuit Court, Judge Joseph Cataldo described the violent nature of the crime, the use of a firearm by the co-defendant, and the physical violence of striking one of the men. Judge Joseph Cataldo ordered Kennedy prohibited contact with the male victims.
The two masked male suspects are not in custody. There was no mention whether the identity of the two male suspects is known, but the investigation is still underway.
Kennedy is scheduled to appear in Rolling Meadows Cook County Circuit Court on September 8, 2016.
Get updates from The Cardinal CRIME BLOG ‘Plus’ on Facebook. Just ‘LIKE’ the ‘Arlington Cardinal Crime & Forensics’ Page (become a fan of our page). The updates cover all posts in the 24/7 Crime Alerts! and sub-categories. See all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages at Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor