One suspect charged in connection with Belleville sex assault, carjacking case

A juvenile has been charged in connection with an armed carjacking and sexual assault case in Belleville, according to the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office.

State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly said a juvenile has been charged with aggravated vehicular hijacking and aggravated unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle. The name or age of the juvenile was not released.

A second juvenile remains in police custody but has not been charged yet, Kelly said.

“We’re working on additional search warrants with Belleville police,” Kelly said.

Belleville police submitted their case to the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office on Monday.

Police continue to look for a third suspect.

Police on Saturday arrested the second juvenile suspect in the case. The 14-year-old was picked up at his residence just after midnight and is described as someone who is well known to police because of a history of scrapes with law enforcement.

A 16-year-old suspect was arrested early Friday after being pursued by police from East St. Louis back into Belleville.

The attack happened Thursday evening in the first block of Parkridge Drive, a development of townhomes at the end of North 50th Street in west Belleville.

According to police reports, three men ambushed a woman in her early 20s as she pulled her 2015 Mini Cooper into her garage.

One of the suspects was believed to have been armed with a handgun.

Two of the suspects stole the woman’s car while the other stayed behind and sexually assaulted her, according to police.

Police said Friday that the woman had recently applied for a restraining order against a man. But they didn’t believe there was a connection between that case and the attack.

This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 7:14 AM with the headline "One suspect charged in connection with Belleville sex assault, carjacking case."