CHICAGO — A Rogers Park man who went on a three-hour violent crime spree that culminated in the murder of a driver on the Kennedy Expressway received a 37-year sentence on Wednesday. After receiving various credits, Darnay Washington, 34, should expect to be paroled 28 years from now.
Washington was on bond for three misdemeanor cases at the time of the alleged crimes, which played out during the afternoon and evening of January 30, 2021.
The spree began when Washington and two accomplices walked into a smoke shop in the 4400 block of North Milwaukee and violently robbed the store at gunpoint. One offender grabbed the cashier by his throat as the others displayed weapons and gathered merchandise and cash.
Video cameras recorded the incident, including when Washington stole a hookah bong from a shelf, prosecutors claimed. Police found the bong and other merchandise from the smoke shop when they executed a search warrant at his apartment three days after the robbery.
The men climbed into an Infiniti and left the scene, only to drive their car into a woman’s Nissan Rogue about five minutes later as she traveled in the 5200 block of West Cullom. The 33-year-old woman got out of her SUV to check for damage, only to be confronted by Washington and one of the other men, who were both pointing handguns at her, prosecutors said. Washington got in the driver’s seat and the men drove away with her SUV accompanied by the Infiniti, according to the allegations.
Later, as a snowstorm hit the city, the hijacked Rogue tried to pass Vilut Gavrilas, 37, who was driving slowly on the unplowed inbound Kennedy Expressway near Division Street. Gavrilas’ dashcam was recording as he steered toward the Division Street ramp while the Rogue’s driver continued to try to pass him on the left and right. Eventually, Gavrilas opened his door to block the Rogue’s path and began yelling at the Rogue’s driver.
That’s when the Rogue’s passenger-side window lowered and someone inside the hijacked SUV fired three shots at Gavrilas, killing him. The Rogue passed Gavrilas’ car and turned onto Division Street. Gavrilas’ car crashed on the Division Street ramp.
Investigators linked a series of CPD surveillance camera feeds to track the Rogue from the shooting scene to the 1700 block of North Sawyer in Humboldt Park. Officials said all three offenders involved in the earlier crimes were seen switching between the Rogue, the Infiniti, and two other cars over the next two hours.
The Illinois State Police eventually found the hijacked Nissan and recovered two shell casings and a Wendy’s soft drink cup from inside. Prosecutors said DNA on the cup matched Washington. One of the bullets retrieved from Gavrilas’ body and one of the shell casings found inside the Rogue came from the gun police found in Washington’s bag three days after the murder, officials alleged.
ISP also found the Infiniti. According to prosecutors, it was registered to Washington’s mother, and documents belonging to Washington were found in the car.
Washington received a nine-year sentence for armed robbery in 2014 and was discharged from parole in late October 2020, about three months before the alleged crime spree took place.
On Wednesday, Washington pleaded guilty to murder, armed robbery and aggravated vehicular hijacking. Judge Pamela Stratigakis handed him 25 years for the murder charge, which he must serve completely. She gave him 12 years for the other two charges, which must be served at 50%.
