Wheaton Vehicular Hijacking Results In 8 Year Sentence

From the DuPage County State’s Attorney Office:

January 31, 2020

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced today that a Chicago resident charged
with forcibly stealing a woman’s car from a Wheaton shopping center has been sentenced
to eight years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Demarion Chambers, 23
(d.o.b. 9/12/1996) appeared at a sentencing hearing this afternoon where Judge Alex
McGimpsey handed down the sentence. The State had asked for a sentence of fourteen
years. On December 4, 2019, Chambers entered a plea of guilty to one count of Vehicular
Hijacking, a Class 1 Felony. Chambers has been held in custody since December
14, 2018 at the DuPage County Jail on a bond of $500,000 with 10% to apply.

On December 13, 2018, at approximately 9:07 p.m., Chambers approached an occupied vehicle
parked outside the Target store located on County Farm Road in Wheaton. Chambers
repeatedly knocked on the window of the car and the occupant of the car
eventually opened the door at which time Chambers pulled the door open and threatened
the occupant who then left the vehicle. Chambers entered the vehicle and fled
the scene in the victim’s car. An investigation conducted by the Wheaton Police
Department led to Chambers who was taken into custody from a home in Chicago
without incident.

“For the second time this week, a DuPage County judge sentenced a defendant to prison
for hijacking an innocent victim’s car,” Berlin said. “This afternoon, it was Demarion
Chambers who received an eight-year sentence for stealing a woman’s car from a department
store parking lot. As with the previous case, we are grateful that no one was
injured during the commission of this crime. And as with the previous case, a finding
of guilty and the resulting sentence sends the message to any would-be
carjackers that this type of violent crime will not be tolerated in DuPage
County. I would like to thank the Wheaton Police Department for their work in identifying
Demarion Chambers as a suspect in this case. I would like to thank Assistant
State’s Attorneys Nicole Wilkes-English and Adam Frahm for their efforts in
preparing a strong case against Demarion Chambers which ultimately led to a
guilty plea and today’s sentencing.”

Chambers will be required to serve 50% of the sentence before being eligible for parole.

This press release was produced by the DuPage County State’s Attorney Office. The views expressed here are the author’s own.