A Plainfield teenager was ordered detained on May 26 after facing multiple felony charges for allegedly ramming his car into five Chicago police officers during an attempt to disperse a large teen gathering on the Near West Side. Rashad Johnson, 18, was arrested at the scene and charged with five counts of attempted murder, aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon, and other felonies. Police said Johnson drove through a crowd of officers who were blocking off Loomis Street and Roosevelt Road during an after-prom party that turned chaotic.
At Johnson’s pretrial detention hearing at the George Leighton Criminal Courthouse, prosecutors said he intentionally struck the officers and possessed an illegal 30-round MAC-10 pistol. Judge Ankur Srivastava agreed with prosecutors’ assessment that Johnson posed a danger to the community and ordered him held until his next court date on June 17. “I want to give people the benefit of the doubt, especially to people that are young and have no criminal history,” Srivastava said. “But it’s not like you didn’t know how to drive and accidentally hit the accelerator … I think you made a choice, and your choices endangered people’s lives. You have hurt a lot of people.”
According to Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Rusch, around 3:20 a.m., Johnson was driving westbound on Roosevelt Road in a blue Ford Fusion with two passengers when he swerved into another lane before turning south onto Loomis Street. Prosecutors allege he then drove into several officers lined up in the street; one officer suffered injuries across his body while others were treated for head injuries, elbow lacerations, or road rash. All five officers were later discharged from the hospital in fair condition.
Rusch argued that continuing to drive after injuring one officer showed intent by Johnson. He also cited as further grounds for detention that Johnson had an illegally obtained loaded firearm in his possession at arrest.
Johnson has only an instructor’s permit for driving and was not accompanied by an adult over age 21 with a license; his passengers were aged 19 and 20 years old. Court records indicate he lives in Plainfield but has family ties in Chicago.
David Gaeger, attorney for Johnson, said his client had no prior criminal record, is academically successful, and comes from a supportive family who attended Tuesday’s hearing; however, Judge Srivastava declined release pending trial.
The nature of Sunday morning’s gathering remains unclear—whether it was part of recent so-called ‘teen takeovers’ or more spontaneous as described by Alderman Jason Ervin (28th). Mayor Brandon Johnson condemned such unauthorized gatherings online Sunday while maintaining support for parental responsibility rather than new curfew measures.