Police in Chicago confirmed Friday night that an 18-year-old suspect is being held without bail in the carjacking and beating of Jin Lew.
CBS Chicago reports Termaine Patterson, 18, faces multiple counts of attempted murder, robbery, aggravated vehicular hijacking and aggravated battery to a victim who is 60 or older.
Five months after the attack, Lew continues to struggle with his recovery.
Lew “is still not doing well,” Chief of Detective Brendan Deenihan said to the Chicago Sun-Times. “He needs 24-hour care and it’s undetermined if he’s ever going to truly recover from this incident.”
According to ABC7 News, police believe four people attacked Lew back in April. Only Patterson is in custody and the other three are still on the loose.
“We’ve worked hand in hand with the family since this happened back in April, and I’m at least glad that we were able to hold somebody accountable today,” said Cmdr. Don Jerome, with the Chicago Police Department.
The hospital listed Lew as a John Doe until police made a connection between a missing person’s report filed by the family and Lew.
He had been in a coma and unrecognizable. He had been found by a street cleaner. Investigators say the four hijackers had followed Lew in another carjacked vehicle. The attackers then beat Lew and ran off with his car.
Police tracked down Lew’s car five months later using Lew’s credit card information and video surveillance.
Lew’s son said the family had lost hope the perpetrators would ever be caught. Friday’s announcement came as a huge relief to them.
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