A young man is sentenced to six and a half years in federal prison for carjacking a rideshare driver in downtown Chicago. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 19-year-old Noah Ransom met his fate on yesterday when U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly imposed the sentence.
On the morning of April 9, 2022, an unsuspecting Lyft driver picked up Ransom and four other men at a downtown Chicago hotel. Tragically, it was not long before the driver found himself staring down the barrel of a gun, held by none other than Ransom himself. In an act that only served to further inflame tensions within the community, Ransom commandeered the vehicle while his accomplices accompanied him on this night of terror.
But Ransom's crime spree was far from over. As reported by the U.S. Department of Justice, just over an hour after stealing the vehicle, Illinois State Police identified the ill-gotten Lexus RX350 on Chicago's South Side and ordered it to a stop. Undeterred, Ransom continued driving, leading police on a harrowing high-speed chase, with the pursuit ultimately spanning multiple expressways and lasting for nearly 30 minutes.
Thankfully, the nightmarish ordeal would come to an end in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood, as Illinois State Police forced the stolen vehicle to a stop. Ransom was arrested, and the weapon used in his crime was subsequently seized. It was only a matter of time before the young man pled guilty to federal carjacking and firearm charges.
Acting United States Attorney Morris Pasqual declared in a statement: "Committing a senseless act of violence like carjacking is a serious crime that will earn you a substantial federal prison sentence. We are working tirelessly with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to pursue, prosecute, and detain violent carjackers."
