14 years for man who got shot while trying to carjack an armed rideshare driver

Darick Benson, the man who got shot while trying to carjack a rideshare driver at gunpoint two years ago, received a 14-year sentence on Thursday.

Benson, 22, was on probation for another carjacking-related case when he and a juvenile female tried to carjack the driver, who had a concealed carry license.

Shortly after midnight on August 12, 2023, the driver picked up the pair in the 1500 block of South Millard, Chicago. Moments later, Benson, seated in the back, pointed a gun at the driver’s head. The juvenile female, also in the back seat, patted down the driver’s right pants pocket, prosecutors said.

The driver, a 26-year-old who was licensed to carry a concealed firearm, slowed his SUV down and jumped out while it was still moving. He ran a short distance, pulled a gun from his left pants pocket, and fired three shots at his car.

Benson returned fire and tried to drive the man’s vehicle, but the SUV wouldn’t operate because the key fob was out of range in the driver’s pocket, according to prosecutors. Benson and the girl ran from the SUV as a passing motorist called 911.

But Chicago police were already on their way because the gunfire triggered a nearby ShotSpotter, officials said.

Officers found the juvenile about a block away with a graze wound on her right arm. Benson was located near a garden apartment entrance, a firearm approximately three feet away. He had sustained a gunshot wound to his leg.

On Thursday, Benson pleaded guilty to attempted vehicular hijacking with a firearm before Judge Stanley Sacks, according to court records. Sacks ordered Benson to submit DNA to a law enforcement database.

At the time of the carjacking attempt, Benson was on probation for possessing a stolen motor vehicle. Prosecutors said he was found driving a woman’s carjacked Jeep in August 2021. Initially charged with vehicular hijacking, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for probation.

Court records show his probation was terminated unsatisfactorily last month.

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