Chicago man charged with attempted murder; questioned in connection with case of missing Oswego, Illinois man: records

A Chicago man is charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting at a tow truck driver in February 2022 and robbing $200 from him.

Tyron P. Johnson, 24, of Chicago, was charged Sept. 21 with attempted murder, armed robbery, robbery resulting in bodily injury, attempted battery by means of a deadly weapon and pointing a firearm.

Charges were unsealed Monday.

He is in custody in Cook County, pending extradition to Lake County, Indiana. He is ordered held without bond until Halloween, before his bail is reset to $10,000 cash surety.

Johnson’s next court hearing is Oct. 27 before Judge Samuel Cappas.

Hammond Police were called at 10:04 a.m. Feb. 7, 2022 to the 1300 block of Michigan Street for a weapons call.

The driver told officers he worked for a business that bought used cars. A man called him saying he had a 2008 or 2009 Volkswagen Jetta to sell. The victim said he would look at it.

The driver drove to the agreed address — 1200 block of Indiana Street. At first, he didn’t see anyone. He pulled into an alley, then pulled down to the next intersection when a thin, younger Black male in his early 20s walked toward him.

Thinking it was the buyer, the driver opened the door. The other man got in with a gun and demanded money. The driver gave him $200.

He took the driver’s cell phone and started scrolling. The driver took the gun and managed to eject the magazine. The other man pointed and shot — as the bullet whizzed past the driver’s hair.

It lodged in a metal pillar behind the truck’s door.

The driver got out and the other man started beating him in the face and head, the affidavit alleges. The other man got the gun back and pointed it at the victim.

The driver jumped back in the truck and sped off. The gunman fled.

The driver had a scratch on his forehead. Officers found a partially loaded black 9mm magazine in the south alley of Michigan Street.

On scene, officers named Johnson as a possible suspect. His girlfriend lived nearby.

The phone number he used to call the driver was tracked to Johnson’s girlfriend, who owned the cell phone account. She has not been charged in connection with the case.

During the investigation into the tow truck driver shooting, police also asked Johnson about a different case — Edward “Eddie” Gardner, 22, of Oswego and Bolingbrook, Illinois, who went missing on March 13, 2022.

Gardner had been dating a relative of Johnson’s girlfriend, according to the affidavit. Johnson admitted he was with Gardner the night he disappeared. The Indiana court records do not formally accuse Johnson of wrongdoing or charge him in Gardner’s disappearance.

Hammond Police recovered Gardner’s rented 2021 white Dodge Charger on March 29, 2022. It had been abandoned after hitting four parked cars on the 6700 block of Nebraska Avenue. Oswego Police — who are investigating Gardner’s disappearance said he rented it since Jan. 24, 2022.

Inside, they found a 9mm casing.

The weapon — a Glock 9mm handgun — was recovered during a Munster traffic stop on March 31, 2022 of a male juvenile. The teen is not named.

A Munster police officer pulled over a 2016 Nissan Sentra on the 500 block Ridge Road around 2:35 a.m. on March 31, 2022. The car door was slightly ajar and the driver appeared to be hiding something.

They found a gun — a Glock model 19 — by the gas pedal, with counterfeit bills and marijuana inside. The boy was arrested. He is not named in court documents. He has been charged as a juvenile in the traffic stop.

An Indiana State Police firearms analyst concluded a bullet casing from the Feb. 7 robbery and bullet casing from the Charger were matched to the same recovered Glock 19 handgun in the traffic stop.

Johnson was arrested by Chicago Police on April 30, 2022.