DuPage County Sheriff’s Office
April 28, 2021
A Villa Park man is in custody, charged with the April 21 battery and car-jacking of an Amazon delivery driver in unincorporated DuPage County near Villa Park.
Jiovani Villa, 21. (DOB 08/13/99) of the 1600 block of South Michigan Avenue in Villa Park is charged with vehicular hijacking, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, robbery and aggravated battery on a public way. Judge Jeffrey MacKay set bond at $100,000.
The victim reported that he parked his personal vehicle, a blue 2006 Toyota Scion, at about 8:10 p.m. on April 21, in the area of Danby Street and Kirkland Lane in the Brandywine neighborhood to deliver packages. As the Amazon delivery driver returned to his vehicle, an unknown male who was wearing dark colored clothing appeared, pushed the Amazon delivery driver to the ground in the roadway and then stole his vehicle. The vehicle contained multiple Amazon packages that were rendered undeliverable. An anonymous citizen’s tip led police to Villa.
“Criminals are getting more and more brazen as we see penalties for these violent crimes begin to be reduced. When you reduce penalties, it only makes sense crime will increase,” Sheriff James Mendrick said. “That being said, we’re still DuPage County and we do not tolerate this behavior here.”
The stolen vehicle was located Friday morning, April 23, in the parking lot of a Villa Park motel near the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Ardmore Avenue. Villa was located in the driver seat of the vehicle and was taken into custody without incident by officers from Villa Park and surrounding agencies. Once in the custody of the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, Villa confessed to hijacking the vehicle as well as opening and selling the Amazon packages found inside the vehicle at a gas station in Chicago.
“I would like to thank Sheriff James Mendrick and his team for the quick identification and apprehension of the suspect in this case,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said. “Their successful efforts send the message to any would-be carjackers that this type of violent crime will not be tolerated in DuPage County.”
Villa’s next court date is scheduled for 8 a.m. on May 24 in courtroom 4000.
Members of the public are reminded that this complaint contains only charges and is not proof of the defendant’s guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Chicago Times 