25-year-old  Anycco M. Rivers of Kankakee was sentenced (Monday) to more than 17-years in prison for carjacking and discharging a firearm during and in relation to the violent crime.  The sentencing follows a four-day jury trial where the government presented evidence showing that Rivers and an accomplice stole a vehicle at gunpoint and that Rivers discharged a firearm at bystanders as the men fled the scene. In finding Rivers guilty, the jury further found that he had the intent to cause death or serious bodily harm to another during his theft of the vehicle.

The federal court in Urbana reported that at the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence demonstrating that Rivers fired the gun in a populated area near a park and baseball fields. The bullets struck several vehicles in the area of the carjacking. One image presented at the hearing showed that a bullet fired by Rivers lodged mere inches away from a child’s car seat.

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