Chicago — A Chicago man who allegedly carjacked a driver because he needed to get to court for a pending stolen motor vehicle case has been sentenced to a combined 16 years in prison. But he’ll be released after serving less than seven years.
Edward Fleming, 22, was charged with possessing a stolen motor vehicle in January 2020 after police said he was driving a stolen Ford Fusion with a ski mask on his head and a “Friday the 13th”-style “Jason” mask in the back seat. He was released on his own recognizance.
The following month, prosecutors said, Fleming and two juveniles lured a Joliet man into a carjacking trap so Fleming could get to his court appearance within the hour.
The hijacking victim, 22, told police he drove to West Pullman around 8 a.m. to meet with a woman he found via a dating app. When he arrived, a 14-year-old girl directed him to another location, where Fleming allegedly pointed a gun at him and racked its slide. A 17-year-old male punched the victim in the face, and the entire group took the man’s phone, keys, and car.
Fleming was due in court at 9 a.m. that morning. But he didn’t make it.
That’s because, at 8:44 a.m., Chicago police spotted him as he parked the hijacked Nissan Altima less than a block from the 111th Street courthouse, a complex that also houses the Chicago Police Department’s Calumet (5th) District police station and Area South police headquarters.
Officers said they could see a handgun lying in the open inside the car, a weapon that was stolen in south suburban Lynwood, according to a police report.
Fleming has now pleaded guilty to armed robbery without a weapon, which was reduced from armed robbery with a firearm in the hijacking case. Prosecutors dropped six other felonies, and he received a 14-year sentence from Judge Thomas Hennelly. By pleading guilty to armed robbery without a weapon instead of armed robbery with a firearm, Fleming avoided a 15-year sentencing enhancement.
In the stolen motor vehicle case, prosecutors allowed Fleming to plead guilty to a reduced charge of theft in exchange for a two-year sentence to be served consecutively, according to court records.
He is receiving credit for two years and 293 days spent in custody before sentencing, a discretionary credit of 519 days, and a 50% sentence reduction for good behavior. Records from the Illinois Department of Corrections show Fleming is scheduled to be paroled on September 18, 2026, six years and seven months after the carjacking.
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