An 18-year-old man has been charged following the abduction of a 5-year-old boy during a carjacking Thursday in northwest suburban Park Ridge.
Park Ridge Police received dozens of tips and phone calls from neighboring police agencies and the public following the abduction, which they say led investigators to Deangelo Fountain.
Fountain, 18, of Evanston, was brought to the Park Ridge police department for questioning Friday and was charged with aggravated vehicular hijacking, aggravated kidnapping and unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle, all of which are felonies, police said Saturday.
He was denied bond at an afternoon hearing.
Police said Fountain had an altercation at Metropolitan Preparatory High School in Arlington Heights Thursday morning and left campus early, beginning the trek to his Evanston home.
Officials said Fountain was looking for a car to get home when he saw a woman go inside to drop off bags and took advantage of her idling car.
The woman said she was unloading groceries from her SUV in the 1700 block of Good Avenue at 12:20 p.m. when a man jumped in the vehicle and drove off.
Drake Whitker was sleeping in his safety seat in the back seat of his family's car when the vehicle was stolen, police said.
"She saw him revving the engine and she ran out and banged on the hood saying my child is in the back seat," said Park Ridge Police Chief Frank Kaminski.
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A watchful neighbor saw what happened and immediately called police with a description of the car and the suspect, prompting an Amber Alert.
Park Ridge Police confirmed Drake was found unharmed in the missing vehicle in an alley near Oakton and Laramie after an alert citizen who saw the Amber Alert spotted the vehicle and called police.
"All we can say is thanks," said Whitker's step-father Tony Riley. "So thankful. We thank God for how it all unfolded."
Court documents say Fountain panicked when he saw the child in the backseat and dumped the car in the alley.
Family says Whitker slept through the entire incident, only to wake up alone in the car in a Skokie alley. He was found two hours later.
