Carjacking in Orland Park Leads to Federal Charge

DAVID JOHNSON, 23, of Chicago, is charged with one count of carjacking in connection with the Friday evening incident.  Johnson made an initial court appearance Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert and was ordered to remain detained in federal custody.  A preliminary hearing was set for Feb. 26, 2021, at 11:30 a.m.

The complaint and arrest were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen DeTineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Jason Reid, Chief of the Oak Forest Police Department; David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department; and Joseph Mitchell, Chief of the Orland Park Police Department.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sheri Wong and Scott Edenfield.

According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, the victim on Friday evening was sitting in his car parked on the street outside of his home in Orland Park when Johnson approached, pointed a gun at the victim’s head, and demanded the key.  Johnson stole the vehicle and drove it to Chicago, where he crashed into another car in the city’s Morgan Park neighborhood, the complaint states.  Johnson then fled on foot and fired a shot at an Oak Forest Police officer who was pursuing him, the complaint states.  Chicago Police officers arrested Johnson a short time later.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  The carjacking charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.