A man who committed a carjacking at gunpoint in the backyard of a Chicago residence was sentenced on April 10 to fourteen and a half years in federal prison.
The sentencing follows an incident on Nov. 2, 2023, when Damarri Conner and Kenneth Merritt confronted a woman and her daughter as they returned home in the Beverly neighborhood. The men emerged from hiding, with Conner punching the woman before pointing a loaded handgun at her. He then threatened her husband, who came outside to help his family, while the assailants took their Audi sedan and fled. Surveillance videos captured the carjacking.
According to authorities, Conner later used stolen keys from the initial attack to return on Nov. 14, taking another vehicle—a Range Rover—from outside the same home. Law enforcement tracked this vehicle back to Conner’s neighborhood and arrested him after finding him hiding in a closet.
Conner pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal carjacking and firearm offenses. U.S. District Judge Sunil R. Harjani handed down his sentence on Wednesday. Merritt also pleaded guilty earlier this year; his sentencing is scheduled for June 9 at 1:30 p.m.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office; and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.
“Carjackings are among the most personal and terrifying crimes committed in this District,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Zenner said in court documents related to Conner’s case. “This crime was heinous and violent. The trauma he inflicted on his victims will take years to repair.”
