Father of 7 dragged by car, killed while trying to sell his phone; 3 teens charged

ROUND LAKE BEACH, Ill. (WLS) -- Three teen girls are charged in the death of a father of seven who was allegedly dragged by a car during a cell phone robbery in the north suburbs.

"He was such a good person, he didn't deserve any of this," the victim's daughter, Lily Olmos, said.

Javier Bueno, 43, was killed last week in the parking lot of this Round Lake Beach Meijer store while trying to sell an iPhone 6. Communicating through the "Offer Up" app, Bueno arranged to sell his phone for $450 to teenage girls.

"He met with them at the front door, he took what I call necessary precautions: doing this during daylight, in a well-populated area in front of the business," Round Lake Beach Police Chief Michael Scott said.

Round Lake Beach police say Bueno handed the phone over to the car full of five teens. The oldest was 18-year-old Courtney Sherman, who was a passenger. The girls handed Bueno an envelope with cash, but police say Bueno immediately realized he was only given a few dollars.

"At that point, when he realized that and that girls realized that he was on to them, they sped away," Chief Scott said.

Because he was leaning into the vehicle, Bueno was dragged for a bit, then hit his head on the pavement. The father of seven died three days later.

"To realize this has happened over a cell phone and that the people who did were teenage girls," said Tina Rompala, a family friend.

Rompala has started a GoFundMe campaign for Bueno's family. His daughter said he was an involved and great dad.

"He was there for everything - band concerts, any type of concerts. He took us to prom, he picked us up from prom. He just did everything for us. He never said no. He was always there for all seven of us," Olmos said.

Bueno is survived by his wife, seven children and four grandchildren. In addition to Sherman, two 16-year-old girls have been charged with reckless homicide and robbery. Sherman was ordered held on $500,000 bond.

The two teen girls were transported to Depke Juvenile Complex Center in Vernon Hills. Police say it is likely the 16-year-olds will be charged as adults.

In a separate incident on April 27, a 38-year-old man died after he was pinned under a pickup truck in the same Meijer parking lot.

Investigators said the man, identified as Justin Cairns, may have been under the truck with a tool when the vehicle began to move backward for an unknown reason, trapping him.