Man pleads guilty to carjacking three people, shooting one victim in Chicago in 2022
A man has pleaded guilty to carjacking three people in one week in August 2022 in the West Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, shooting one of the victims after he'd already given up his car.
Jamari Edwards, 22, pleaded guilty to three counts of carjacking, one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
According to his plea agreement, Edwards carjacked a man at gunpoint in the drive-thru of a coffee shop in the 7100 block of South Ashland Avenue on Aug. 6, 2022. After forcing the victim out of his 2013 Honda Civic, as the victim was walking away, Edwards asked him why he wasn't scared, and shot him in the leg.
Edwards started pulling away in the victim's car before stopping, getting out of the car, and frisking the victim, stealing his phone and wallet, before driving away.
Two days later, a man who had stopped at the convenience store of a gas station in the 1500 block of West 71st Street was walking back to his car when Edwards ran up, pointed a gun at him, and frisked him, stealing his phone and wallet.
When Edwards could not find that victim's car keys, he grabbed the victim by the shirt and dragged him to the car, where he found the keys on the ground, got in the car, and drove off.
On Aug. 13, 2022, Edwards walked up to a woman sitting in her 2015 Jeep Cherokee outside the convenience store of a gas station in the 1500 block of West 71st Street, opened the front door, and pointed a gun at her head.
After the woman pushed the gun away, Edwards pointed the gun at her head again, and told her "get out of the f*****g car before I blow your brains out."
When the woman did not get out of the car on her own, Edwards dragged her out by her necklace, then stole her necklace, purse, wallet, and phone, and drove away in the Jeep.
Chicago police arrested him six days later. Edwards originally was charged in Cook County Circuit Court, but was later indicted in federal court in Chicago, and the charges in state court were dropped.
Edwards faces 17 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on Aug. 12.
