Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Man Charged in Federal Court With Carjacking and Murdering Chicago Rideshare Driver
CHICAGO — A man has been charged in federal court with carjacking and murdering a rideshare driver in Chicago earlier this year.
EDMOND HARRIS, 18, of Chicago, carjacked a Lexus GS sedan from Javier Ramos on March 23, 2021, according to an indictment returned Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. During the carjacking, Harris brandished a firearm and fatally shot Ramos, the indictment states.
The indictment charges Harris with one count of carjacking, one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of causing death through the use of a firearm during a crime of violence. The charges in the indictment carry a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of death.
Harris was taken into federal custody this morning. An initial court appearance is scheduled for today at 3:15 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey I. Cummings.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen deTineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Kramer.
“Senseless acts of violence like the ones charged in this indictment have no place in our society,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch. “The charges announced today are the direct result of a strong partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement in Chicago. We will not hesitate to prosecute violent carjackers to the fullest extent of federal law.”
“Carjacking is a threat to the safety of the community,” said ATF SAC deTineo. “I pledge the continued full support of the men and women of the Chicago Field Division to work collaboratively with our law enforcement partners to investigate these crimes.”
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.