CHICAGO — Bring on the FBI! Two men accused of participating in one of last year’s most memorable crimes are now fighting federal charges in the case. A grand jury has indicted Kenneth “Kenny Mac” Merritt and Damarri “Marri” Conner, charging them with federal charges of using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime and carjacking, court records show.
On the evening of Nov. 2, 2023, two men entered the backyard of a family’s home in the 9300 block of South Pleasant as a 46-year-old woman and her 12-year-old daughter returned from the girl’s sports practice.
As the woman walked to the house, two men ran into the driveway and knocked her to the ground. One snatched her bag and rummaged through it, while the other held a gun to the fallen woman. They threatened to shoot her and then pointed a gun at her husband as he walked out the back door, officials said. He was also robbed.
It was all captured on video:
After discussing which car to take, the men drove away in the family’s Audi, police said. Days later, someone returned to the family’s home and stole their other car, possibly with the keys the robbers had taken.
In an arrest warrant filed last year, prosecutors said Conner tortured the slide of a firearm, threatened to shoot the victims and grabbed one of the victims by the neck during the crime. They said he was caught on video using one of the victims’ credit cards, and clothing worn during the robbery was found in his bedroom. Conner was out on bail at the time of the crime, according to court records.
Chicago police identified Merritt from surveillance footage when he used the man’s American Express card to make a purchase at a BP station, according to his CPD arrest report. He was wearing the same clothing he wore during the robbery and carjacking, the report said.
Prosecutors say Merritt admitted to taking a bus to get to the scene of the robbery. Police found CTA surveillance video that supported his claim. He had been on parole since July 2021 after serving half of the three consecutive 10-year sentences he received for two robberies and for being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records .
According to court records, these robberies were initially charged as aggravated carjackings, but prosecutors allowed Merritt to plead guilty to the lesser charge in a plea bargain.
CPD records show the carjackings both occurred on September 17, 2016: one in the 500 block of West Eugenie in Old Town and the other in the 2000 block of North Lincoln in Lincoln Park.
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