Chicago Man Sentenced To Prison For Aurora Carjacking

On March 19, 2021, Pulley entered a blind plea of guilty to one count of Aggravated Vehicular Hijacking, a Class X Felony, in front of Judge John Kinsella, who handed down today’s sentence.

Aurora - DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced today that Tyrell Pulley, 23 (d.o.b. 3/1/1998) of Chicago, has been sentenced to twelve years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for stealing a man's Jeep Cherokee from an Aurora gas station while the man's eleven-year-old daughter was still in the back seat. The State had requested a minimum sentence of twenty-five years. On March 19, 2021, Pulley entered a blind plea of guilty to one count of Aggravated Vehicular Hijacking, a Class X Felony, in front of Judge John Kinsella, who handed down today’s sentence. On May 6, 2018, Pulley appeared in Bond Court where Judge Kinsella set bond at $150,000 with 10% to apply. He has been in custody since that time.

On May 4, 2018, at approximately 5:45 a.m., the victim was at the gas station outside his vehicle preparing to put gas in his car when another vehicle pulled up next to his car. Pulley exited that vehicle, entered the driver's side of the victim's vehicle and began to drive away with the victim's daughter in the back seat. The victim attempted to stop Pulley and as Pulley pulled away, the eleven-year-old girl opened the back passenger door and jumped out of the moving vehicle. Pulley and the car in which he arrived then fled the scene at which time the victim contacted the Aurora Police Department. Approximately forty-five minutes later, an Illinois State Trooper observed the Jeep Cherokee traveling on I-290 at which time the trooper initiated pursuit of the vehicle. Following a brief pursuit, Pulley was taken into custody.

“Over the past several years, we have seen an alarming increase in the number of carjackings in DuPage County and throughout the entire Chicagoland area,” Berlin said. “These violent crimes affect not only the victim of the carjacking, but also the entire community. The sentence passed down by Judge Kinsella this afternoon sends the message that in DuPage County we take carjackings extremely seriously. This afternoon, Mr. Pulley learned that lesson the hard way, as he will now spend a substantial amount of time behind bars for what he did. Thankfully, the young girl involved in this violent crime was not seriously injured. Her quick thinking and courage to jump out of a moving vehicle may be what kept a terrifying situation from turning tragic. I commend the Aurora Police Department for their quick response as well as the Illinois State Police for their outstanding work in apprehending the suspect in this case. I would also like to thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Nicole Wilkes-English and Anthony Pasquini for their efforts in holding Mr. Pulley responsible for his actions.”

Pulley will be required to serve 50% of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

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