A man charged with trying to carjack an Uber driver on the West Side, only to fail because he couldn’t figure out how to operate her Tesla, has resolved the case by pleading guilty to a lesser charge.
Prosecutors said Tyrone Kirkman, 21, was on probation for a gun violation when he and an accomplice attacked, robbed, and tried to hijack the rideshare driver early on July 24, 2024.
Officials alleged that Kirkman and an accomplice targeted the 30-year-old woman in the 4900 block of West Race just three months after he received “first-time weapon offender probation” for a gun charge.
According to a police report, two men gestured for the driver to pull forward as she arrived on the block. One of them opened her passenger door, stole her phone and wallet, and ordered her out. The other opened her driver-side door and punched her until she got out.
The men tried to drive away in the Tesla but fled on foot when they couldn’t get it running. Investigators traced the victim’s stolen phone to a home in the 4900 block of West Erie.
Months later, police presented the woman with a photo lineup, and she identified Kirkman as one of the attackers, prosecutors said. Officers arrested him as he left the same Erie Street home where the phone had been tracked.
Kirkman has now pleaded guilty to aggravated battery in a public place. Judge Timothy Joyce sentenced him to three years in prison. Court records show Kirkman is also serving time for two aggravated battery cases from Kendall County, with a projected parole date in late March.
His probation in the earlier gun case was terminated “unsatisfactorily” in July, according to court records.
