carjacking

July 14, 2023

Chicago Man Charged With Carjacking

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

A Chicago man has been charged with carjacking from an incident that occurred last March, according to a recent press release. The incident occurred in Mount Prospect, and Mount Prospect police initiated the arrest. According to the report, the incident occurred at 11 p.m. on March 19, 2022. A white Hyundai Santa Fe was stolen in the 1800 block of North Burning Bush Lane. The vehicle was recovered in Chicago three days later and was towed to Mount Prospect police headquarters. A stolen license plate was found affixed to the vehicle. The suspect was apprehended after fingerprint analysis on the license plate matched the suspect’s. The suspect’s bail was set at $200,000.

Vehicular Hijacking Charges

With the rise in carjackings all across the nation, authorities have been cracking down and filing charges against suspected carjackers. The State of Illinois takes carjacking very seriously. It is punishable by a sentence of either 4 to 15 years or when conditions can be considered aggravated, a term of 6 to 30 years. In some cases, carjacking charges can have enhancements that include the possibility of life in prison.

October 12, 2022

Three Teens Charged in Carjacking Spree, Vehicular Homicide

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Four people, including three teens, have been charged in a carjacking spree that ended with the death of a 55-year-old woman. Police say the perpetrators carjacked two women, set a pickup truck on fire, and then caused a deadly crash after a police chase. The 17-year-old driver has been charged with murder and three counts of aggravated fleeing. Another 17-year-old has been charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and unlawful use of a weapon. Others are facing charges of trespass to a vehicle and weapons violations.

The teens carjacked two vehicles in a short time before setting fire to a pickup truck they had stolen earlier. At that point, police became aware of the teens, and a chase ensued. The chase reached speeds of 60 mph and only stopped when the stolen vehicle crashed into a Toyota driven by the 55-year-old victim.

Understanding the Murder Charge

October 7, 2022

18-Year-Old Held After Carjacking, Battery, Against 61-Year-Old Man

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Police have confirmed the arrest of an 18-year-old after a vicious carjacking against a 61-year-old man in Chinatown. The man was also of Asian descent. It is unclear if the man was targeted because of his ethnicity, but crimes against the Asian population have skyrocketed since COVID-19. Asian business owners are now being targeted for hate crimes and burglaries. Many believe that Asians avoid using banks, making their homes prime targets to rob. In this case, the perpetrators may have targeted the area hoping to find an Asian with a wad of cash on them. Nonetheless, the beating itself was vicious, and the 61-year-old man was found unconscious in the street.

Police believe that there are four suspects involved in the carjacking, but thus far, only one of them has been apprehended. The suspect is currently being charged with attempted murder and aggravated vehicular hijacking. Another juvenile has been arrested in connection with possessing the victim’s stolen vehicle, but it is not believed that he was involved in the carjacking attempt. It is unclear if he will be charged with a crime.

The carjacking

September 2, 2022

Teen Commits Nine Carjackings in One Day

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Call Guinness; it’s a new record! A South Side teen committed nine carjackings in one day. He has since been charged with 11 carjackings with a deadly weapon and two counts of damaging government property. No one was injured or killed during these carjackings. Instead, it appears to be an effort to commit as many carjackings as possible in as short a period of time as possible. While the carjacker is under 18, he is likely to be charged as an adult and face substantial prison time. His age will be considered a factor when sentencing him, but he will go to prison for these crimes.

Aggravated vehicular hijacking comes with a potential sentence of between four and 15 years. So, figuring this precocious teen will be sentenced toward the minimum because of his age, he still faces 44 years behind bars. That’s not good. Getting your name into Guinness isn’t a big enough payoff to spend the next 44 years of your life behind bars.

Now What?

March 2, 2022

Carjackings on the Rise in Post-Pandemic America

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Over the past two years, the number of carjackings in Chicago and across the country has conspicuously risen. Whether the matter is indirectly related to the pandemic, concerns about overcrowded prison cells, or something else entirely is a matter of intense debate. Another matter under debate is the problem that a number of the individuals committing the carjackings appear to be juveniles.

In one case, a victim describes detailing a client’s car when a young man approached him from behind and stuck the barrel of a gun in his back, demanding the keys. The man handed the keys over to the teen who then proceeded to strike him in the bridge of the nose before stealing the car. The car had an anti-theft system and was easily disabled remotely. It was then found abandoned hours later.

With anti-theft systems making carjackings more or less purposeless, one would imagine that carjacking would decrease. Yet that has not been the case. Why not? Well, the payoff, in fact, may not be the car at all, but the actual jacking.

July 16, 2021

Chicago Teen Charged With Killing Rideshare Driver During Carjacking

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Back in the old days, they made you burn a saint to prove your loyalty to the gang was above all other considerations. Today, it appears that carjackings are fulfilling the same role. Carjackings are on the rise in Chicago with a healthy cross-section of defendants under the age of 18.

Recently, a group of 14-year-olds carjacked an off-duty police officer. They are facing charges. One of the teens was on home monitoring at the time of the carjacking, leaving everyone to wonder how he was allowed out of his home to commit a crime.

In another case, a Chicago 18-year-old is facing charges related to the carjacking of a rideshare driver. He is facing charges related to carjacking, armed violence, and causing a death while committing a violent crime. Meanwhile, many of these perpetrators are being charged under federal law, and federal authorities aid Chicago police in tamping down violent crime, gang violence, and weapons crimes. The same boy was arrested for another carjacking in March.

May 26, 2021

Man Fired Shots Into Vehicle, Then Carjacked Another in One Week

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Authorities say that 22-year-old Kiar Evans shot into one vehicle, then carjacked another all over the course of a single week. The carjacking charge is punishable by up to a 15-year sentence. He is being held without bond after his initial appearance.

Evans was caught after someone phoned in a reckless driver. A police helicopter was able to catch up with Evans and follow his stolen vehicle off of the Eisenhower Expressway. After Evans exited the vehicle, he walked up to another vehicle, knocked on the window, and attempted to pull open the door, but the door was locked and the window was up. Evans then pulled a handgun with an extended magazine and fired two shots into the passenger-side window. The driver sped off before Evans could hijack the vehicle.

Evans then approached another vehicle with his gun out and ordered the driver to exit the car. The driver complied, and Evans had another vehicle. Meanwhile, the police helicopter stayed on Evans before the stolen vehicle was found in a multi-vehicle crash about two miles from the scene of the carjacking. Evans was arrested there.

March 19, 2021

Teen Faces Felonies in Rideshare Carjacking

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

An 18-year-old who ordered a ride from Lyft is now facing carjacking charges after police say he hailed the ride with the sole intention of stealing the car. Cornelius Carr has been charged with vehicular hijacking and armed robbery.

According to the driver, he was on his way to pick up a fare when two teens approached his vehicle wearing masks and surgical gloves. They got into the back seat, and one of the teens demanded the driver’s keys and money. The driver complied, and the two teens drove off with the stolen car. The vehicle was recovered later with the plates removed. Police were able to track the account used to hail the Lyft driver back to Cornelius Carr. The Lyft driver then identified him in a lineup, according to police. The police did not say how this was accomplished when the teens were wearing masks.

The Case Against Carr

March 10, 2021

Chicago Teens Charged in Carjacking

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Two Chicago teens have been charged with carjacking and threatening to shoot the woman whose vehicle they stole. The incident occurred on the Southwest side of Chicago. The teens are accused of pulling a 58-year-old woman from her vehicle, threatening to shoot her, and then driving away with her car. Police were able to track down the vehicle less than two hours later. They arrested one of the teens at that time.

While both assailants are under the age of 18, the older of the two, a 17-year-old, is facing charges for vehicular hijacking and aggravated robbery. The 15-year-old is facing one count of criminal trespass to a vehicle. Both teens will make their first appearance in juvenile court, but the 17-year-old is likely to be charged as an adult for violently depriving someone else of their property.

What is Vehicular Hijacking?

February 17, 2021

Chicago Man Facing Federal Charges After Carjacking

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

A Chicago man is facing federal charges after police allege he hijacked a car at gunpoint, crashed it on the South Side of Chicago, and fired a shot at police before being apprehended. In 2018, the feds announced that they planned on trying more carjacking cases in federal court. David Johnson is the lucky beneficiary of that initiative. He is the first man to face charges under the federal initiative.

At the time of the carjacking, David Johnson was on supervised release after he was found guilty of weapons charges. The US Attorney told the press that would-be carjackers had better watch out, “Committing a senseless act of violence like carjacking will earn you a home in federal prison for a long time.”

The Carjacking