Publications & Sites 
Maywood man charged after alleged Oak Park child abduction attempts
Shawn M. Stubblefield, 28
Updated: January 14, 2013 6:12AM
OAK PARK — Oak Park police announced felony charges Thursday against a man accused of attempting to abduct two teenaged girls Wednesday.
Shawn M. Stubblefield, 28, also faces multiple felony charges related to the sexual assault of a Chicago girl in the Austin neighborhood on Monday.
Stubblefield, of the 1800 block of South 4th Avenue, Maywood, was charged with one count of kidnapping and one count of child abduction for the Oak Park incidents. He was charged with two counts of kidnapping, one count of criminal sexual assault and one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault in connection with the Monday incident on the 400 block of North Parkside Avenue in Chicago.
Stubblefield, who is listed as 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds on his driver’s license, has numerous arrests on his record, dating back to 2001, and four criminal convictions, including prison sentences for theft and burglary.
He is scheduled to have a bond hearing Friday at the Criminal Courts building at 26th and California in Chicago.
Oak Park Police Chief Rick C. Tanksley praised the strong citizen involvement and a rapid multi-jurisdictional police response that resulted in the quick apprehension of Stubblefield.
On Tuesday afternoon, an Oak Park River Forest High School student was allegedly followed as she walked home south on Ridgeland Avenue, District 200 spokesperson Karin Sullivan said. When she noticed the man, the girl ran to Julian Middle School, 416 S. Ridgeland, where a staff member at the door noticed she was being followed and called police.
Around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, a 16-year-old student walking on the 100 block of South Taylor Avenue to classes at OPRF was allegedly grabbed around the neck by a man who tried to pull her, according to police. She screamed and bit his finger, police reported, and fled when a passing motorist pulled over and stopped.
In the third reported incident, a 13-year-old Brooks Middle School girl was walking to school on the 700 block of South Home Avenue around 8:40 a.m., when she was grabbed from behind by a man who placed his hand over her mouth, police said. The girl screamed and was able to break free and run to a passing motorist, who immediately called police.
The suspect got into a car and fled, police said, but officers relayed a description of the man and his vehicle. River Forest police ultimately stopped that car on Madison Street in River Forest after receiving a call from an off-duty Maywood officer of a car driving erratically.
“The willingness of these two motorists to get involved when they saw a crime being committed is to be commended,” Tanksley said. “In addition, the excellent work performed by all the police agencies involved further underscores the importance of the unified spirit of cooperation that we have in the Chicago metro area.”
Tanksley also praised the two young victims for their poise and intelligence.
“The details of the descriptions of the suspect were key to our ability to get the word out quickly and find the suspect before he could get very far,” Tanklsy said. “These were brave young girls who met adversity with strength and poise. Their actions helped to take a dangerous predator off the streets.”
In fact, officials reported that it was just minutes after a police dispatch call describing a suspect in two attempted child abductions in Oak Park went over the air Wednesday morning, Stubblefield was in custody of River Forest police. Roughly a half hour later, police said they had a positive identification of Stubblefield from one of the victims.
According to police, one of the OPRF students provided a detailed description of the suspect as well as the car, a white or cream older model Cadillac last seen driving west bound on Jackson Boulevard.
A car matching that description was also reportedly seen driving west on Garfield Street, immediately south of the Eisenhower Expressway.
At 8:52 a.m., a River Forest officer radioed the West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center that he had pulled over an “older white Cadillac” on Madison at Thatcher Avenue, after being flagged down by an off-duty Maywood police officer who told the River Forest officer the driver was driving erratically.
The dispatcher relayed the description of the alleged abduction suspect, a black man between 20 and 30 years old, with black dread locks to his shoulders, between 6-foot and 6-foot-3 inches tall, wearing a black zipper up jacket, and grey sweat pants.
“That matches my driver,” the River Forest officer replied, with the exception of the pants, which were light blue jeans.
Numerous Oak Park squads converged on the corner of Madison and Thatcher, as other units canvassed the area.
At 9:18 a.m., an Oak Park officer radioed dispatch, “I have a positive identification.”
