A federal judge sentenced a Chicago man to nearly ten years in prison for an armed carjacking in West Town in 2022, which resulted in a high-speed police chase that ended in a crash.
Allen Clay, 23, pled guilty to carjacking and using a firearm in a violent offense, according to court records. Clay was sentenced to 117 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Robert Blakey, including 33 months for carjacking and 84 months for the firearm offense.
On April 25, 2022, Clay and his accomplice, Naronn Cain, were riding in a car when Cain became upset because the driver was “going too slow,” according to federal prosecutors. So their driver came to a halt next to two people who had recently parked a white 2011 Kia Optima in the 2600 block of West Division.
“Don’t move, n*****!” Clay allegedly shouted at the driver while pointing a loaded 9-millimeter handgun. Cain fired a second firearm at the driver, while Clay moved to the passenger side and instructed the female passenger to “Get the f*** out of the car,” according to prosecutors.
The two left with the Kia, but authorities were able to locate it by tracing the passenger’s AirPods. In a sentencing brief, prosecutors stated that Illinois State Police troopers pursued the Kia “at incredibly high and dangerous speeds” until it crashed on the 87th Street overpass near the Dan Ryan Expressway. Clay and Cain were apprehended at a local gas station.
Cain allegedly told cops at the police station that his child’s mother threatened him with never seeing his children again if he did not arrive by a specific time. So, he “callously pointed a rifle at two individuals and stole their 2011 Kia Optima,” according to authorities.
Prosecutors noted in Clay’s sentencing memorandum that his life has been “marred by violence.” Nevertheless, they claimed, “Clay’s own personal experiences with the pain, trauma, and loss that violence brings have not deterred him from inflicting violence on others for his own personal benefit.”
Clay’s counsel responded in a separate memorandum that “Mr. Clay has the potential to turn things around and become a productive, law-abiding member of society.”
In December, Blakey condemned Cain to ten years and five months. Both Clay and Cain have been ordered to pay $4,325 in reparations to the victims.