Chicago man pleaded guilty in Ottawa stolen car case

A Chicago man who in March fled Ottawa police using a stolen car – sending a nearby high school in lockdown – pleaded guilty Thursday to possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

Kemar R. Mathews-Hill, 25, of Chicago, appeared in La Salle County Circuit Court and entered a guilty plea to possession of a stolen motor vehicle, a Class 2 felony carrying a sentence of up to seven years in prison. He was sentenced to three years in prison. Two additional counts were dismissed.

Mathews-Hill, 24-year-old Shimund Jones and a Chicago teen all were charged March 16 in the 1300 block of La Salle Street in Ottawa. There, a police officer tried to make a traffic stop on a vehicle reported stolen out of Shiller Park.

The vehicle was almost immediately involved in a traffic crash at La Salle and West Washington streets, causing disabling damage to the vehicle. Three suspects fled from the vehicle on foot before each were apprehended.

Mathews-Hill declined an opportunity to address Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. before sentencing.

Charges against Jones remain pending. He will next appear in court in February.