Alleged Chicago Carjacker Arrested on Federal Charge

KIAR EVANS, 22, of Chicago, is charged with one count of carjacking in connection with the Thursday afternoon incident.  Evans is scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court today at 1:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey I. Cummings.

The arrest and federal charge were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin Walgamuth.

According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Evans approached the driver’s side window of a Nissan Altima at the intersection of West Congress Parkway and Independence Boulevard in Chicago.  Evans pointed a firearm at the Nissan’s driver and demanded that the driver exit the vehicle, the complaint states.  The victim complied and Evans drove off in the Nissan, the complaint states. 

Shortly after the carjacking, Evans was driving the stolen Nissan when he was involved in a multi-vehicle crash at the intersection of Harrison Street and Ogden Avenue in Chicago, the complaint states.  Chicago Police officers arrested Evans and discovered a loaded semi-automatic handgun in the Nissan, the complaint states.

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.