Men charged in connection to attempted robbery of armored truck, and multiple fatal shootings

CHICAGO - Superintendent David Brown and the Chicago Police Department announced first-degree murder charges against two men in the shooting death of an armored truck guard and the wounding of her partner in West Chatham Monday morning.

The men were also charged in a double homicide later in the same day that Supt. Brown called a, "brazen attack," and "murderous spree."

The first incident occurred Monday, November 15, 2021, at approximately 10:21 a.m. at the Bank of America branch in the 200 block of W. 83rd Street in the West Chatham neighborhood.^[1]

Two armored truck security guards with GARDA World security services were loading an ATM machine at the bank while a third GARDA guard remained behind the wheel of the truck when the offenders arrived.

Authorities now say a driver with the offenders stayed in the car while three men wearing all black and masks got out, two held pistols and one brandished a rifle, and demanded cash from the guards. A gun battle ensued.

Armored truck guard Lashonda Hearts, 47, was shot six times while her partner, whose name has not been released, was shot in his lower extremities. The third guard was not hit and returned fire but no offender was struck at that time, police said.

Unable to retreive any cash, the offenders got back into the vehicle and fled eastbound down 83rd Street.

A short time later, before 11 a.m., police said the vehicle was captured on private video camera entering a strip mall in the 6700 block of South Stony Island. The vehicle parked and one of the offenders, wearing the same clothing as captured on video during the attempted robbery and fatal shooting of the armored truck, got out of the vehicle and entered a Boost Mobile store in the strip mall.

While inside, the offender brandished handguns and announced a robbery. A customer got on the ground, while the clerk complied with demands. The offender grabbed several cell phones and exited the store.

Authorities originally reported around 11:52 a.m. Monday, responding to a vehicle crash in the 8700 block of S Saginaw.^[2] Authorities now say they responded around 11:30 a.m. that morning.

Upon arrival, authorities found a vehicle that had struck several parked cars and a tree. There were two occupants inside the vehicle, and both had suffered gunshot wounds. They both died from their injuries, police said.

Police now believe these two victims to be the other two men involved in the robbery and shooting of the armored car drivers. Numerous cell phones were found inside and outside of the vehicle that were later confirmed to be the cell phones that had been taken from the Boost Mobile a short time before. Superintendent Brown indicated that police believe the four men got into a fight after the robbery of the cell phone store and the two accomplices were killed by the two men charged.

A witness called 911 and reported two men running into a residence in the 8700 block of South Saginaw.

Officers on scene surrounded the home. SWAT was called. Occupants from the house came outside and surrendered to police, with several taken into custody. Handguns and a rifle were recovered from the home, police said.

Shortly after, charges were approved for two offenders.

Antwon Montgomery, 19, and Deandre Jennings, 20, have been charged with first-degree murder for the killing of Lashonda Hearts. Montgomery and Jennings also face two counts of attempted first-degree murder charges for Hearts' partner, a 46-year-old male security guard. Additionally, Jennings and Montgomery face attempted armed robbery charges in relation to the same incident, Supt. Brown said.

Montgomery and Jennings are also charged with first-degree murder and one count of armed robbery in regards to the double homicide that occurred in the 8700 block of South Saginaw.

Montgomery is also being charged with one count of armed robbery and one count of unlawful restraint for robbing a Boost Mobile store in the 6700 block of South Stony Island.

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