Man Gets More Than 15 Years In Prison For Carjacking Driver With Sawed-Off Shotgun
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minneapolis man was sentenced Tuesday to more than 15 years in prison after allegedly admitting to several armed carjackings in the Twin Cities.
The U.S. Attorney's Office District of Minnesota said that 25-year-old Jeremiah Ironrope was sentenced in federal court to 184 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered pay nearly $50,000 in restitution.
In September, Ironrope pleaded guilty to one count of carjacking and one count of using, carrying or brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence in connection to an incident in August of 2020. He also admitted to other carjackings throughout the Twin Cities.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said that Ironrope's crimes were part of a wave of carjackings that has washed over the Twin Cities in recent years, eroding the community's "overall sense of safety and security." He said that his office is working with law enforcement across the state to curb the violent trend.
According to court documents, Ironrope and his co-defendant, 26-year-old Krisanne Marie Benjamin, carjacked a driver in Richfield on Aug. 28, 2020. Ironrope allegedly approached the victim with the sawed-off shotgun, demanded the keys and drove off in a 2017 Audi.
Investigators tracked the stolen car using GPS data, and state troopers tried to stop Ironrope and Benjamin the next day. However, Ironrope lead them on an erratic high-speed case, where he allegedly wove through traffic, cut off other cars and blew through red lights. Authorities later found the Audi abandoned in Minneapolis.
In his guilty plea, Ironrope admitted to four other armed carjackings in St. Paul, St. Louis Park and Maple Grove. Benjamin admitted to abetting Ironrope in two of those carjackings. She was sentenced in January to more than eight years in prison for her role in the Richfield carjacking.