CHICAGO — A man who tried to carjack a driver in Lakeview has been sentenced to three years, but he will serve more than twice as much time for battering correctional workers while awaiting trial in the Cook County jail.
The hijacking attempt unfolded after a man pulled over in the 1500 block of West Barry on the evening of September 29, 2020, prosecutors said. Kentrell Wyatt walked up, opened the driver’s side door, and ordered the man out. But the victim managed to close the door.
After opening the door two more times while trying to get the man out of the car, Wyatt ran away, prosecutors said. Surveillance cameras recorded his escape. Police arrested him nearby, and officials said the victim confirmed that he was the would-be carjacker.
Wyatt, 21, pleaded guilty to attempted vehicular carjacking this month before Judge Aleksandra Gillespie. She sentenced him to three years.
During the same hearing, Wyatt pleaded guilty to three felony counts from an incident inside the jail when he allegedly punched three correctional officers in their faces in January 2021, according to court records.
Gillespie sentenced him to a pair of three-year sentences and a one-year sentence to be served consecutively. That’s seven years, more than twice the time he received for the crime that put him in jail to begin with.
All of the sentences will be reduced by 50% for good behavior and by the 929 credit days he earned before pleading guilty. He’s scheduled to be paroled on September 15, 2025, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections website.
