A woman who helped a gunman commit a brutal carjacking in the middle of the Dan Ryan Expressway, an incident that drew national attention in a viral video, has been sentenced to six years in prison.
Starreese Vickers, 23, of Calumet City, pleaded guilty to vehicle hijacking in exchange for Judge Paul Pavlus’ sentence, according to court records. Under Illinois law, she will receive the standard 50% sentence reduction and credit for time spent on electronic monitoring while the case was pending. Records show she is expected to be released on parole in November.
While the carjacking of a driver in the lanes of a Chicago freeway is newsworthy enough, this case gained widespread attention because another driver captured the entire scene on video as it unfolded shortly after 10 a.m. on October 14, 2022.
The motorist stopped to record unusual activity on the other side of the highway, just north of the Stevenson Expressway. Three people fled from a damaged vehicle believed to have been involved in an accident. One of them, wearing a black balaclava and carrying what appeared to be a gun, began approaching passing vehicles, apparently in an attempt to force someone to give him a ride.
At one point, the armed man appeared to offer a handful of cash to the motorist recording the video and asking for a ride. The driver refused.
“Look at that gun! Look at that gun!” the man shouted as he continued filming.
Moments later, the gunman gave up offering money and decided to carjack someone.
“He’s hijacking the car! He’s hijacking the car now!” the cameraman shouted, urging another driver to accelerate and leave the area. Instead, the victim, a 34-year-old man driving a red Dodge Journey, stopped near the hijacker.
Video shows the victim getting out of his SUV and raising his hands as the carjacker climbs into the driver’s seat. A woman wearing pink leggings, said to be Vickers, ran up and jumped into the passenger seat before the hijacked vehicle drove away.
Despite the viral images, no charges were immediately filed.
Nearly a year later, on September 21, 2023, prosecutors filed charges against the alleged shooter, identified as Vahsean Davenport. Illinois State Police announced the charges in a Facebook post and scheduled an arraignment for Oct. 3.
Davenport never showed up for court. According to prosecutors, he disappeared from his electronic monitoring location the day before the charges were announced publicly on social media. Officials said his whereabouts had been unknown for more than a month.
He emerged early on Halloween morning in 2023 when a Chicago Police helicopter began tracking a stolen Infiniti Q50. The helicopter crew followed the car through the city, directing patrol units until it crashed near the 5200 block of West Chicago Avenue.
Prosecutors said Davenport was in the passenger seat when the Infiniti crashed. He jumped out and tried to run away, but was quickly confronted by officers.
Prosecutors say Davenport grabbed an officer’s holstered pistol during the struggle and refused orders to release it. According to a CPD arrest report, the officer used a series of mechanical strikes on Davenport’s face before regaining control of the weapon and pinning him down.
In a warrant filing, prosecutors said Davenport’s electronic monitoring bracelet had become untraceable weeks earlier after the device’s battery failed. Authorities then filed additional charges, accusing him of escaping electronic monitoring, attempting to disarm a peace officer, possession of a controlled substance and entering a motor vehicle.
The gun case that put Davenport under electronic surveillance in the first place stemmed from an incident on March 23, 2023, near Goose Island. Prosecutors said a woman stepped out of her home in the 1300 block of West Crystal Street after hearing her car alarm around 3 p.m.
She allegedly found a man next to her car with a gun in his hand, while another man sat underneath, apparently trying to remove the catalytic converter. Officials said the armed man threatened the woman before both suspects fled in an Infiniti Q70. Police records showed the car had been reported stolen from Insight Hospital in Bronzeville two days earlier.
About 90 minutes later, officers spotted the Infiniti stuck in traffic on Lake Shore Drive near Chicago Avenue in Streeterville. As police approached the vehicle, prosecutors said Davenport got out of the driver’s seat and tried to walk away. Officers arrested him and a 15-year-old boy who was also in the car.
According to a Chicago police report, investigators found four catalytic converters in the backseat of the Infiniti and two more in the trunk.
Davenport continues to fight all allegations in court.
