Man with 22 prior felony convictions gets 14 years for carjacking SUV with baby inside

A 22-time convicted felon added two more felony convictions to his record Thursday when he pleaded guilty to carjacking an SUV last year with a 7-month-old girl inside.

Jeremy Ochoa, 39, pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular hijacking in connection with the July 2025 carjacking, court records show. Judge Neera Walsh sentenced him to concurrent 14-year prison terms.

In July last year, Ochoa approached a 36-year-old woman in the 1200 block of South Independence and forcibly took her 2011 GMC Acadia while her 7-month-old daughter remained strapped inside, officials said. Ochoa allegedly dragged the mother alongside the SUV as he sped away.

Chicago police tracked the stolen SUV using license plate reader alerts and cellphone location data from a phone left inside the vehicle. About two hours later, officers found the SUV unoccupied in the 6200 block of South King Drive. The baby was later found “abandoned on the sidewalk,” prosecutors said.

A CPD officer monitoring surveillance cameras spotted Ochoa discarding his shirt in the area. A covert police unit then saw him enter a convenience store near 61st Street and King Drive, according to a police report. Enforcement units moved in and arrested him.

Most of Ochoa’s previous felony convictions are for residential burglary, according to Cook County court records.