Chicago — A Chicago man has been sentenced to more than 11 years for carjacking a man in the Fulton River District.
Anthony Bass, 21, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular hijacking with a weapon before Judge Joseph Claps in exchange for the 11-year, six-month sentence, court records show. Claps sentenced him to a consecutive six-year sentence for a separate robbery case.
Bass had active arrest warrants in six Chicagoland counties when police arrested him in July 2021 for carjacking a 27-year-old man inside a residential parking garage in the 300 block of North Halsted in July 2021.
The victim had just parked his white 2011 BMW when Bass and an unidentified woman took his valuables and keys, then directed him to the bottom of a staircase, where they ordered him to lie down, prosecutors said. Bass and the woman returned to the victim’s BMW but couldn’t figure out how to start it.
So, the woman brought the victim back to his car and ordered him to start the vehicle, according to prosecutors. After that, Bass and the woman ordered the victim to lie next to the vehicle, and they drove away as a surveillance camera recorded it all.
Chicago police tracked the car using license plate readers and found Bass sitting in the vehicle two days later.
After receiving the state’s standard 50% sentence reduction and various credits, Bass is expected to be paroled in November 2029.
Bass’ plea deal arrangements allowed him to avoid an even longer prison sentence. He was originally charged with aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm, which carries an additional 15-year prison stint on top of any other sentence received. The sentencing enhancement does not apply to aggravated vehicular hijacking with a weapon, which is what he pleaded to.