Appeallate Court upholds sentence for man involved in Downers Grove carjacking

The Third District Appellate Court of Illinois has affirmed the 36-year sentence of a man for the armed carjacking of a pregnant woman’s car from her driveway in December 2019.

In his petition seeking a new sentencing hearing, Emanuel Embry, 25, formerly of Chicago, claimed that the trial court considered improper factors in aggravation resulting in an excessive sentence, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

About 2:27 p.m. Dec. 13, 2019, Downers Grove police responded to a carjacking on Hawkins Street. An investigation found that the victim, a pregnant woman, was sitting in her car in her driveway when she was approached by two masked, armed individuals, one of whom was later identified as Embry, according to the release.

The men ordered the woman out of her car and drove off with it. A friend of the victim saw the carjacking and followed the stolen vehicle. When the stolen vehicle was stopped in traffic, the victim’s friend approached the car at which time the occupants exited and fled. As the victim’s friend moved the victim’s vehicle off the roadway, one of the offenders entered the victim’s friend’s car and drove away, according to the release.

Authorities arrested Embry on Dec. 17, 2019, in Chicago. Further investigation into recent carjackings found that he was involved in a previous armed carjacking in Warrenville on Dec. 13, 2019.

On May 1, 2023, the case proceeded to a sentencing hearing where Judge Michael Reidy imposed a 40-year sentence. At sentencing, Reidy said that “the court finds that the defendant through his crime spree is a menace to society and that it is necessary to remove him from civilized society. The court further finds that there is ample evidence in aggravation and a dearth of mitigation to minimize the sentence, that a period of incarceration is necessary in order to not deprecate the seriousness of the offense, nor be inconsistent with the ends of justice.”

Following a hearing on a motion to reconsider the sentence, the court reduced Embry’s sentence to 36 years.

In its analysis, the Appellate Court disagreed with Embry’s assertions that the 36-year sentence imposed upon him was excessive. The court noted that the trial court “considered the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and character of defendant. The court was aware of and discussed defendant’s youth. It took the time to consider the evidence in aggravation and mitigation, including defendant’s upbringing.”

The Appellate Court further noted that “A sentence that falls within the statutory range is not an abuse of discretion unless it is manifestly disproportionate to the nature of the offense or greatly at variance with the spirit and purpose of the law” and consequently the trial court did not abuse its discretion as the “Defendant’s 36-year sentence was within the applicable range.”

“I thank the Appellate Court for their thorough analysis of this case and their finding that a 36-year sentence is not only appropriate, but as Judge Reidy noted, warranted, as Mr. Embry ‘is a menace to society and that it is necessary to remove him from civilized society,’” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “The violent carjacking of a young pregnant woman as she sat in her car in her own driveway not only caused obvious emotional damage to the victim, but also had a crippling effect on the entire community sowing fear and anxiety leaving residents worrying that they could be next.”