COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — The suburban man accused of hijacking several cars and causing a crash that killed an 11-year-old boy in 2013 was held on $1 million bail Wednesday.
Rockie Douglas, now 36, was driving a stolen car and fleeing police when he ran a red light and slammed into a Chevy Suburban near Halsted and Garfield about 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 21, 2013, police and prosecutors said.
An 11-year-old boy, later identified as Donovan Turange, was killed when he was thrown from the Suburban and landed on the sidewalk, Assistant State's Attorney Todd Kleist said during a bond hearing Wednesday.
Douglas kept driving — eventually hijacking at least two more cars and stealing a 52-year-old woman's purse at a Jewel Osco parking lot before fleeing to Wisconsin, prosecutors said.
He was arrested at a Milwaukee McDonald's on Christmas Eve 2013 — three days after the fatal crash — and has been incarcerated in Wisconsin on several Wisconsin cases ever since, according to authorities.
With a recent bout of Wisconsin sentencing complete, Douglas was finally extradited to Chicago on Monday.
The Beach Park man is charged with murder and carjacking. On Wednesday, Cook County Judge Laura Sullivan ordered him held in lieu of $1 million bail.
According to prosecutors, police first spotted Douglas on Dec. 21, 2013, in "a high narcotics area" near 50th and Princeton. When officers tried to talk to Douglas, he sped away and police gave chase.
The car Douglas was driving had been reported stolen in a carjacking the day before, Kleist said. Douglas slammed into the Chevy Suburban when he ran a red light at Halsted Street and Garfield Boulevard about 12:30 p.m., Kleist added.
The 11-year-old boy, Donovan Turange, who was sitting the back seat of the Suburban, was thrown from the SUV and later taken to Comer Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to prosecutors.
Douglas didn't stop driving until he reached a nearby gas station, Kleist said. There, Douglas allegedly ditched his car and hijacked another vehicle at gunpoint.
On his way out of the parking lot, Douglas slammed into a marked Chicago Police SUV that was trying to block him from leaving, prosecutors said.
Douglas was next spotted in suburban Oak Lawn, where he stole a 52-year-old woman's purse inside a Jewel Osco parking lot, Kleist noted. Douglas pulled up alongside the woman, who was walking to her car, and grabbed her purse, which contained $400 cash, as well as credit cards, debit cards and an ID, Kleist said.
Authorities believe Douglas committed at least one other robbery and one additional carjacking in DuPage County before heading to Wisconsin.
He was arrested in Milwaukee after he used one of the victim's credit cards, Kleist said.
In Wisconsin, Douglas was charged with a theft that happened on Dec. 12, 2013, according to prosecutors. He was sentenced in that case to one year in prison followed by five years of extended supervision. Other Wisconsin convictions include several 2004 burglaries and using a fraudulent credit card in 2013.
In Illinois, Douglas was previously convicted of forgery, theft and burglary in 2004, according to prosecutors. He also has a 2005 burglary and 2010 theft conviction. Douglas' sentences have included bootcamp, probation and prison time; and there are several violations of probation on his record.
Contributing: Kelly Bauer
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
