2 suspects arrested in carjacking incident near Merrillville
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. – Two men were arrested Friday for carjacking a vehicle near Merrillville, Indiana.
Indiana State Police said dispatch received reports of a vehicle driving recklessly on I-65 while traveling southbound from I-80/94. The vehicle reportedly had been driving from the left shoulder to the right shoulder at a high rate of speed and almost hit several vehicles while doing so.
As troopers were sent out to find the vehicle, described as a silver Honda, they were notified the vehicle crashed near the ramp to U.S. 30. After the crash, the two people inside the Honda got out of the vehicle and starting running up to other vehicles that had stopped for the crash, according to investigators.
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Police said the suspects reportedly carjacked a black Acura while armed with a knife and physically assaulted the driver. They then drove off in the Acura, heading westbound on U.S. 30.
Officers with the Merrillville Police Department, Hobart Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff's Department were also sent to the area and found the Acura abandoned in the 7900 block of Rhode Island Street in Merrillville.
Investigators noticed footprints in the snow and called in a K-9 unit to help track the suspects. While searching for the suspects, dispatch received a call from the Merrillville Fire Department saying two men walked into the fire station on West 73rd Avenue and said they had been robbed, according to authorities.
Police said the descriptions of the two men at the fire station matched the descriptions of the two suspects who carjacked the Acura. Officers then went to the fire department and took the two men into custody.
The suspects have since been identified as 26-year-old Cain Knaus of Walshville, Illinois, and 34-year-old Stephanie Raices (aka Victor Zarate) of Chicago and the Bronx, New York.
Authorities added Knaus had an active warrant for a parole violation through the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines
Both suspects were taken to the Lake County Jail and have been charged with the following:
Armed Robbery- Level 3 Felony
Robbery- Level 5 Felony
Auto Theft- Level 6 Felony
Battery- Class B Misdemeanor
Leaving the Scene of a Crash- Class B Misdemeanor
Reckless Driving- Class C Misdemeanor
Authorities said they are still trying to determine who was driving the Honda at the time of the crash.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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