By Chicago Times Magazine –

January 15, 2026

A 17‑year‑old male juvenile and Cristian De Jesus Mazza Maita, 19, of the 8200 block of South South Shore Drive, were taken into custody on January 11, 2026, in connection with an armed vehicular hijacking that occurred on the North Side earlier that evening. The juvenile faces multiple felony charges, including aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm, armed robbery with a firearm, aggravated robbery indicating a firearm, and aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon by a person under 21. He is also charged with two misdemeanor counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one misdemeanor count of criminal trespass to a vehicle. Mazza Maita is charged with one felony count of aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm, one felony count of armed robbery with a firearm, and one felony count of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon by a person under 21.

Authorities arrested the juvenile at 8:31 p.m. in the 8100 block of South Paulina, followed by the arrest of Mazza Maita at 8:37 p.m. in the 8000 block of South Paulina. Police say both individuals were identified as participants in a carjacking that occurred approximately 30 minutes earlier, when a 24‑year‑old man was held at gunpoint and had his vehicle taken in the 5900 block of North Glenwood in the 20th District. Investigators also linked the juvenile to two earlier incidents: the armed robbery of a 23‑year‑old man on July 12, 2025, on a train platform in the 1500 block of North Clybourn in the 18th District, and the aggravated robbery of a 15‑year‑old boy on October 31, 2025, on a train platform in the 1100 block of West Berwyn in the 20th District.

Both offenders were placed into custody and subsequently charged. A detention hearing was scheduled for January 14, 2026, at 2600 South California. Authorities report that no further information is available at this time.