Chicago Heights murder suspect arrested after high-speed chase on Dan Ryan

A Chicago man accused of murder in suburban Chicago Heights was arrested last week after leading more than a dozen state troopers on a high-speed chase on the Dan Ryan Expressway.

Michael Caraway, 18, allegedly left two guns, one with a 50-round magazine and a detached laser site inside the car near Calumet City after reaching speeds near 120 mph, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

Caraway faces a charge of first-degree murder in the Feb. 29 shooting of Donta Scruggs, prosecutors said in a bond proffer.

Caraway was charged after a Chicago Heights police detective recognized him in video surveillance near the shooting, prosecutors said. The detective knew Caraway from four years earlier when he worked at a high school and had several run-ins with him, prosecutors said.

Caraway and a 16-year-old allegedly confronted Scruggs in a backyard in the 400 block of Normal Avenue in Chicago Heights, firing multiple shots and killing him, prosecutors said. The 16-year-old was arrested early March in connection to the murder, and is being held without bail.

Prosecutors said the shooting stemmed from an ongoing gang conflict.

Caraway was arrested after a chase that began April 24, when a Chicago police sergeant ran the plates of a vehicle Caraway was driving and saw it was wanted in connection in a Chicago Heights shooting from earlier that week, prosecutors said.

Caraway sped off from an attempted traffic stop near 71st Street and the Dan Ryan, and led 13 state troopers on 10-mile pursuit south to the Bishop Ford, prosecutors said.

When he reached Sibley Boulevard, Caraway allegedly cut across the grassy median and turned north, and then went the wrong way up the entrance ramp up to Sibley, prosecutors said. He lost a tire during the maneuver and stopped on a sidewalk at an apartment complex, prosecutors said.

Caraway, who was wearing an arm cast, tried running, but was arrested while hiding in bushes, prosecutors said. Four other people in the vehicle did not flee but were taken into custody.

Prosecutors said Caraway is seen on photos posted to Facebook wearing the same distinctive clothing as one of the shooters in the surveillance video of the shooting.

In addition to the murder charge, Caraway faces a felony count of armed violence, two counts of unauthorized use of a weapon, aggravated fleeing and possession of a firearm with defaced serial number, court records state.

A Cook County judge on Sunday ordered Caraway held without bail, prosecutors said. He is due back in court Tuesday.

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