Prairie State Wire

A Chicago man has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison after being convicted of carjacking and firearm offenses stemming from incidents on the city’s West Side.

According to federal prosecutors, Kiar Evans carried out a carjacking and attempted another within minutes on May 20, 2021. The first incident occurred near Independence Boulevard and Congress Parkway, where Evans fired shots through the window of a Chevrolet Impala while trying to enter the vehicle. The driver managed to escape.

Shortly after, Evans approached a Nissan Altima, pointed a gun at the driver, and demanded that they exit the vehicle. After taking control of the Nissan, Evans was involved in a multi-vehicle crash at Harrison Street and Ogden Avenue. He was arrested by Chicago Police officers who found him with a loaded semi-automatic handgun. As a previously convicted felon, Evans was prohibited from possessing firearms.

Evans, now 26, has been held in federal custody since his arrest. A jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago convicted him last year on four counts: carjacking, attempted carjacking, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and illegal possession of a firearm by a felon.

U.S. District Judge Martha M. Pacold handed down the sentence on July 18, 2025.

The sentencing announcement came from 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.

“Defendant wielded a gun that had been rendered fully automatic throughout his spree of violence and did not hesitate to use that gun to intimidate his victims and force his will upon them,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paige A. Nutini and Jimmy L. Arce stated in their sentencing memorandum. “His selfish actions exhibited a total disregard for the safety and well-being of others; and by sheer luck, none of defendant’s victims was seriously injured. Defendant’s conduct is a very serious crime, and the public needs to understand that these crimes justify a substantial sentence.”