Damajae Mitchell’s case is a remarkable example, even in a state where most prison sentences are automatically halved.
Last month, Mitchell, who is only 20 years old, admitted to attempting to rob and carjack a 69-year-old woman on the Northwest Side. Officials reported that he already had another carjacking case pending in juvenile court at the time he committed the crime.
On June 26, Mitchell pleaded guilty and was sentenced by Judge Timothy Joyce to nine years in prison for hijacking a senior citizen’s vehicle. He was also given a concurrent three-year sentence for assaulting a peace officer.
We were intrigued by Mitchell’s case in Illinois where the typical nine-year sentence was reduced to 4½ years. Surprisingly, Mitchell was able to avoid spending even a single night in prison. We wondered how this was possible.
The crime
On St. Patrick’s Day 2022, in the 7100 block of West Summerdale, a carjacking took place. According to prosecutors, a 69-year-old woman was warming up her car at around 6:10 a.m. when Mitchell, accompanied by another man, approached her driver’s door. Allegedly, Mitchell pointed his gun at her and ordered her to exit the vehicle.
The woman was understandably terrified and quickly got out of the car. She ran towards a nearby house and frantically rang the doorbell, seeking assistance.
The woman’s Chevy Equinox came to a halt after Mitchell and the other man traveled a brief distance. Mitchell got out of the car to confront the woman at the residence where she was seeking assistance.
According to prosecutors, Mitchell was arrested by the police after they tracked his car via GPS. He crashed the car into a viaduct column and when the police approached on foot, he put the car in reverse and smashed into several parked cars. After that, he got out of the car and ran across the top of several vehicles before he was caught by the police.
According to reports, the authorities discovered an unloaded firearm on the floorboard of the driver’s side in the rear.
The sentence
We were curious to know how Mitchell managed to avoid serving any time in prison despite being sentenced to nine years. After some investigation, we discovered that his sentence was reduced by half in accordance with state law. Additionally, he was given credit for the 833 days (slightly over two years) he had already spent in county jail. However, there was still a little over two years left unaccounted for.
Upon conducting our initial investigation, we consulted the Illinois Department of Corrections website. According to their records, Mitchell was admitted to Stateville Correctional Center on June 27, the day after his sentencing, and was released on the same day.
According to a spokesperson from IDOC, the accuracy of the information on the website has been confirmed. The spokesperson stated that the sentencing order granted the individual 833 days of jail credit for time already served, as well as an additional 794 days of county program sentence credit.
While serving time in jail, Mitchell was able to earn an impressive 794 days of additional credit. This was largely due to his dedication to education and his commitment to attending school while incarcerated.
According to a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, during his time at the Cook County jail, Mr. Mitchell spent 752 days enrolled at York Alternative High School and worked as an inmate for 30 days. It is important to note that the sheriff’s office does not have any involvement in the sentencing decisions made by judges. The amount of credit granted for time spent in programs is at the sole discretion of the judge and is outlined in the sentencing order.
Until December 27, 2025, Mitchell will continue to be under mandatory supervised release, which is similar to parole in Illinois. Unfortunately, the details of his juvenile carjacking case remain unknown due to state laws that prohibit the release of such records.
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