A man who helped two juvenile “Kia Boys” carry out a 45-minute robbery spree across the South Loop, West Loop, and Near West Side has been sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Marion Cotton, 21, pleaded guilty to two counts of armed robbery with a firearm in exchange for the sentence from Judge Angela Munari-Petrone. Prosecutors agreed to drop two additional robbery cases against him.
Authorities said Cotton and another 21-year-old, Jamar McKay, teamed up with 14- and 15-year-old boys to commit as many as 12 armed robberies before crashing their stolen Kia on the Eisenhower Expressway and fleeing from Illinois State Police troopers and Chicago police officers in July 2023.
They started by robbing two tourists in the 1100 block of West Chicago Avenue around 2:30 a.m., taking property from a 39-year-old man and his 41-year-old female companion, officials said. Cotton and McKay both struck the woman in the head with handguns, according to state criminal complaints.
Additional robberies were reported in the 600 block of West Cabrini Street, the 1100 block of South Canal Street, the 1100 block of West Taylor Street, the 2400 block of South Canal Street, the 1200 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, and the 2500 block of South Halsted Street.
Shortly after the robbery on Milwaukee Avenue, a state trooper spotted the stolen Kia, which Chicago police had linked to the spree. Officials said the Kia sped away from the trooper and crashed on the Eisenhower Expressway near Morgan Street.
McKay and Cotton then ran from the wreckage, crossed all lanes of expressway traffic, and bolted down CTA tracks, according to a CPD arrest report. Both men eventually surrendered. The stolen Kia had a broken rear passenger window and was being operated with a USB plug in the ignition, the report said. Those are common signs of the “Kia Boy” theft method, which exploits a design flaw in older model Kia and Hyundai vehicles.
The 14-year-old was charged with 12 counts of armed robbery with a firearm, but details about charges filed against the 15-year-old were never released.
McKay, who was charged alongside Cotton and the juveniles, is scheduled to return to court on June 3. Like Cotton, he faces four robbery cases.
