Crime & Safety

Third Man Charged in Kohl's Shoplifting & Shooting Incident on Thanksgiving

Joliet's Charles Andre Hinch is facing charges of aggravated battery and resisting a peace officer for his role in the incident Thursday in Romeoville, Deputy Police Chief Steve Lucchesi said.

Charges have been filed against a third man allegedly involved in a shoplifting/shooting incident that was foiled by police at the Kohl’s Department Store in Romeoville on Thanksgiving night, according Romeoville Deputy Police Chief Steve Lucchesi.

Charles Andre Hinch, 52, of 429 Strong St., Joliet, has been charged with aggravated battery and resisting a peace officer for his role in the incident, Lucchesi said.

Two others were booked into the Will County Adult Detention Facility earlier:

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  • Robert Russell, 51, of the 500 block of Francis Street in Joliet, was charged with attempted murder/intent to kill injure (felony), retail theft (felony) and obstructing an officer (misdemeanor).
  • Gerald Chamberlain, of the 1300 block of Englewood Avenue in Joliet, originally was charged with one felony count for retail theft. Lucchesi said that charge has been dropped but that Chamberlain has not been released because a parole violation warrant was issued against him.

Kohl’s Shooting on Thanksgiving Night: Dramatic Description & Photos from the Scene

Russell and Chamberlain were taken into custody on Thanksgiving night after police received a call from store security about shoplifters at Kohl’s, located at 261 S. Weber Road in Romeoville, Lucchesi said.

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Hinch was taken to Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital with one gunshot wound to the left elbow and later transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, according a Sun-Times News Group report. He was shot after two officers arrived on the scene and confronted Russell, according to the report.

The officers chased Russell and he jumped into the passenger seat of a Pontiac Sunfire. Russell closed the door of the vehicle on one officer's arm, according to the Sun-Times report. And the officer's arm was still stuck in the car's door when the driver—Hinch—pulled away, according to the report.

A second Romeoville police officer ordered the driver to stop, but the car kept moving, and the second officer fired three or four shots into the car, hitting Hinch in the left elbow, according to Lucchesi and the Sun-Times News Group report.

The officer who was dragged during the wild escape attempt was taken to Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to the report. Lucchesi said the officer has been released from the hospital but has not yet returned to active duty. His name is not being released.

"He is receiving further medical attention," Lucchesi said.

Hinch underwent surgery on Saturday. Then, after he was released from the hospital, he was transported to the Romeoville Police Department, booked and taken to the Will County Adult Detention Center, Lucchesi said.

READ MORE: 1 Kohl’s Shoplifting Suspect Shot, 2 Others Taken Into Custody: Report




















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