CHICAGO — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)), published as received.
CHICAGO — A man who carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint in the backyard of a Chicago residence has been sentenced to 14 and a half years in federal prison.
On the evening of Nov. 2, 2023, KENNETH MERRITT and DAMARRI CONNER carjacked an Audi sedan in the backyard of a residence in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood. A woman and her daughter had just returned home in another vehicle when Conner and Merritt sprang from a hiding place and attacked them. Merritt threw the mother violently to the ground, ripped her purse from her arms, and threatened to kill her and her daughter. Conner then pointed a gun at the woman’s husband, who had rushed outside to help his family. The carjackers took the Audi and drove off. The carjacking was captured on a home-security video, which can be viewed here.
Merritt, 29, of Chicago, pleaded guilty earlier this year to carjacking and firearm offenses. On Sept. 3, 2026, U.S. District Judge Sunil R. Harjani sentenced Merritt to 14 and a half years in federal prison.
Conner, 23, of Chicago, also pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal carjacking and firearm offenses. Judge Harjani sentenced Conner on April 8, 2026, to the same period of incarceration as Merritt.
Merritt’s sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Ryan Whalen, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Fred Waller, Interim Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.
“This crime was heinous and violent,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Zenner argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum in Merritt’s case. “The trauma he inflicted on his victims will take years to repair.”
