Dec 2, 2008 4:13 pm US/Central
No Jail For Sailors Who Carjacked, Torched Cab
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (Lake County News-Sun) ―
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Navy sailors Aaron Couch, 21, of Monroe, La., (left) and Terry Gappa, 20, of Plymouth, Mass., (right) allegedly car-jacked a cab and drove it around the Gurnee area before setting it on fire on Memorial Day.
CBS
The two Great Lakes sailors who carjacked a cabbie then torched his taxi will not serve jail time.
Terry Gappa of Plymouth, Mass., and Aaron Couch of Monroe, La., both 21, were sentenced to 12 months of conditional discharge after pleading guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor criminal trespassing charges.
The sailors were arrested in late May after carjacking an unidentified driver who was driving them from Chicago's Union Station to Naval Station Great Lakes.
According to reports, as the Chicago Carriage Cab approached the Gurnee area, the men told the driver to pull over and let them drive or they'd kill him. Gappa then drove to a Jewel store on Hunt Club Road, where Couch went in and purchased beer. With the cabbie in the passenger seat they then began driving north on Hunt Club Road.
As the cab approached Wadsworth the cab slowed down and the cabbie jumped out and ran to a nearby home where police were called. The cabbie was not injured and later told police he feared for his safety because Gappa was driving erratically.
When police arrived, they found the cab on fire near a Wadsworth subdivision and the two men walking away from the scene.
Both Gappa and Couch appeared to be inebriated, Lake County Sheriff's officials said, and both were charged with felony counts of theft of services, assault, theft of a vehicle and criminal damage to property.
They pleaded Tuesday to a single criminal trespass of a motor vehicle charge, a Class A misdemeanor. In addition to 12 months conditional discharge, which will lead to no punishment if they behave, the men were ordered to pay $12,000 restitution to the cab company and serve 50 hours community service. And they are not allowed to have any contact with the cab company or driver.
(CBS 2 and the Lake County News-Sun are news partners covering stories in the north suburbs. Send story tips to tips@cbs2chicago.com. (© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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