Zip-tied woman threw herself out of moving car to escape armed carjackers, including convicted killer: prosecutors

Zip-tied woman threw herself out of moving car to escape armed carjackers, including convicted killer: prosecutors
Ronald Wembley (Chicago Police Department)

CHICAGO – A convicted murderer is now accused of tying up, kidnapping and carjacking a couple at gunpoint in Brighton Park last month. The female victim escaped by throwing herself from the car while it was moving, officials said.

Judge Antara Rivera arrested 44-year-old Ronald Wembley as a threat to public safety after prosecutors told her about the charges during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse. Wembley, of Calumet Park, was sentenced to 45 years in prison after his arrest convicted of a 1998 murder. He completed his parole in March 2022.

Prosecutors said he and an accomplice took a 35-year-old man’s car at gunpoint on Aug. 18 in the 2500 block of West 45th Place. They assaulted and robbed the man, took the 35-year-old woman’s purse and restrained both victims with zip ties, then forced the couple into the hijacked vehicle, according to an arrest warrant.

The woman eventually escaped by jumping from the hijacked car while it was in motion, officials said. She suffered injuries to most of her right side, her shoulder and buttocks.

Investigators linked Wembley to the crime because his phone records and GPS reportedly placed him at the scene at the time of the crime. They also determined that video footage of one of the carjackers resembled Wembley’s driver’s license photo, officials said.

He is suspected of hijacking vehicles with a firearm using heavy means.

CWBChicago was founded in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had become discouraged by the inaccurate information presented during local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has since expanded to Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown and other North Side areas. But our mission remains unchanged: to provide original public safety reporting with better context and more detail than mainstream media. Our editorial email address is news@cwbchicago.com

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