OAK BROOK, Ill. — A 29-year-old Chicago man was sentenced to 17 years in prison for hijacking a woman’s car as she sat in the parking lot of a suburban shopping mall before work, prosecutors said.
Darnell Anderson was sentenced Friday for the March 2018 carjacking at Oak Brook Mall, DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin said. Anderson pleaded guilty in February to aggravated vehicular hijacking. He must serve half his sentence before he will be eligible for parole.
Authorities said a 67-year-old woman was in her Honda Civic before going to work at the mall when Anderson blocked her in a parking spot with a Toyota Camry he had been driving. Anderson then opened the driver’s side door, showed a gun and demanded the woman get out of the car. When she ran away, Anderson caught up with her and took her purse, prosecutors said. The woman was not injured.
The Toyota Camry that Anderson had been driving was involved in a high-speed chase and crash later the same day, and the people involved told authorities they had bought the car from Anderson, prosecutors said. Authorities said they later found keys to the Honda during a search of Anderson’s home.
Berlin said Judge Jeffrey McKay’s 17-year sentence sends the message to would-be carjackers that they face “a significant prison sentence” if convicted.
