“Kid Cop” Headed to Jail

Probation didn't work. Now he's going to jail.

The teenage boy who made headlines after impersonating a Chicago Police officer last year has been sentenced to juvenile detention for stealing his uncle's car and could face up to four years in prison if he violates terms of his sentencing.

The 15-year-old was initially charged with aggravated battery, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and domestic battery following a Jan. 20 incident, according to Cook County State's Attorney's office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton. He appeared Jan. 22 before Judge Andrew Berman and was ordered held in the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center.

He was arrested Jan. 20 at 7900 S. Vincennes Ave. after patrol officers said they saw him pushing and shoving his mother.

Judge Paul Stralka sentenced the teen Wednesday to the Juvenile Dept. of Corrections on the possession of a stolen motor vehicle charge, Simonton said. The boy also pleaded guilty to the domestic battery charge.

Simonton said the teen will be given provisions at the detention center and could face up to four years in the Illinois Dept. of Corrections if he violates them.

During the January incident, his mother told officers they were fighting because the teen had stolen his uncle’s vehicle earlier in the day in the West Englewood neighborhood. He allegedly took the keys while the uncle was watching television and began driving, police said.

His mother told police she wanted the boy arrested for battery and informed officers he had the keys in his pocket to the stolen vehicle.

In January 2009, when he was 14, the teen entered the Grand Crossing District police station in uniform and impersonated a police officer -- riding in a squad car for hours in an incident that made national headlines.

In May 2009 after a month-long stint in jail for the police caper, he donned a business suit and stole a Lexus from a South Side car dealership under the guise of taking it for a test drive.

In July 2009, Judge Berman sentenced the boy to three years’ probation, warning him that one more misstep would land him in the slammer. But in August 2009 he repeatedly violated a home confinement order and the next month, Berman sentenced the boy to nearly three months in juvenile center.