Chicago, IL-(ENEWSPF)- A federal grand jury has indicted a man on carjacking and firearm charges for allegedly carjacking a rideshare driver’s vehicle at gunpoint in downtown Chicago.
NOAH RANSOM, 18, of Chicago, stole a Lexus RX350 from a Lyft driver on April 9, 2022, according to an indictment and search warrant unsealed Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The Lyft driver picked up Ransom and four other men at a downtown Chicago hotel around 4:00 a.m., and shortly thereafter Ransom pointed a gun at the driver and ordered him to stop the car and get out, the search warrant states. The victim complied and Ransom allegedly drove off with the other men in the victim’s car. About 90 minutes later, Illinois State Police identified the vehicle on the South Side of Chicago and ordered it to stop, but the car fled, the search warrant states. After a 25-minute chase, ISP forced the vehicle to a stop in the city’s West Loop neighborhood, arrested Ransom and the others after a foot chase, and discovered a handgun, the search warrant states.
The indictment charges Ransom with carjacking and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. The carjacking count is punishable by up to 15 years in federal prison. The firearm count carries a minimum prison term of seven years and a maximum of life, which must be served consecutively to the sentence imposed for the underlying carjacking offense.
Ransom was arrested Friday. A detention hearing is set for Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Valuable assistance was provided by ISP and the Chicago Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared C. Jodrey.
The public is reminded that an indictment 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. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
This is a release from the United States Department of Justice.
