Three teenage girls in Illinois are accused of killing a father of seven and stealing his iPhone, police say.
Courtney A. Sherman, 18, of Fox Lake, and two unidentified 17-year-old girls were charged with reckless homicide in connection with the death and robbery of 43-year-old (Trinidad) Javier Bueno-Sanchez, the Daily Mail reported.
The Chicago Tribune reports that Sherman was one of five teen girls who met Bueno-Sanchez at a store parking lot in Round Lake Beach at 7:55 p.m. April 24.
The teen girls allegedly contacted Bueno-Sanchez through the Offer Up app so they could buy an iPhone 6 from him for $450.
Bueno-Sanchez carried out the sale while the girls remained in their car sitting in the parking lot, police say.
He realized something was amiss when Sherman handed an envelope with cash inside that only amounted to a few dollars instead of the $450 he was promised.
As Bueno-Sanchez tried to get his phone back, the 17-year-old driver allegedly drove off while he grabbed onto the car.
“At that point, when he realized that and that girls realized that he was on to them, they sped away,” Round Lake Beach Police Chief Michael Scott told WLS.
The car dragged him until he fell and hit his head on the pavement. Police said the suspects fled shortly thereafter.
Scott said the victim was conscious and talking at first when help arrived, so it did not seem that he was injured seriously.
Bueno-Sanchez’s condition got worse, however, and he died three days later from his injuries.
His death has been ruled a homicide caused by head trauma, according to Lake County Coroner Dr. Howard Cooper.
A 16- and a 17-year-old who were also in the car will not be charged, police say.
Bueno-Sanchez is survived by his wife, seven children ranging in age from six to 27, and four grandchildren.
Tina Rompala, a family friend, started a GoFundMe campaign to pay for Bueno-Sanchez’s medical and funeral expenses.
“He was such a good person, he didn’t deserve any of this,” daughter Lily Olmos told WLS.
Sherman is being held on $500,000 bail while the other two juveniles were taken to Depke Juvenile Complex Center in Vernon Hills. Police say it is likely the two unidentified teens will be charged as adults.
“Young people don’t think of the ramifications of their actions,” Scott told KTXL. “They think of what they’re planning on doing and they don’t think of the things that can go wrong … with this, everything that could have went wrong did, and it can’t get more serious than it is right now.”
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