3 teens charged after father of 7 is dragged by car, killed while trying to sell his phone

ROUND LAKE BEACH, Ill. -- Three teen girls have been charged in the death of a father of seven who was allegedly dragged by a car during a cellphone robbery in a Chicago suburb.

"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 a Round Lake Beach supermarket while trying to sell an iPhone 6. Communicating through the Offer Up app, Bueno had 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 occupied by five teenagers. The oldest was 18-year-old Courtney Sherman, 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 the girls realized that he was on to them, they sped away," the police chief said.

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

"To realize this has happened over a cellphone and that the people who did were teenage girls," said Tina Rompala, a friend of the victim's family.

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," Olmos said. "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."

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 supermarket 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.