Florida man gets 10 years for 2018 carjacking at Oak Brook Mall

A Florida man accused of robbing a woman of her car from the Oak Brook Mall in 2018 was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison.

Anthony Riola, 41, entered a blind plea of guilty on Oct. 30 to one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking, according to a DuPage County State's Attorney's Office news release. The state had asked for a sentence of 25 years. Riola has been in custody at the DuPage County Jail on a $500,000 bond since his arrest.

On Dec. 29, 2018, at approximately 11:50 a.m., Riola approached a woman seated in her car in the Oak Brook Mall parking lot and told her “Give me your car.” Riola also told the woman he had a knife and then brandished the weapon, the release stated.

After the woman fled her vehicle, Riola entered the car but was unable to start it as he did not have the keys. Riola then left the vehicle and approached a valet parking attendant and entered a running vehicle while the valet attendant and owner of the vehicle stood nearby. Riola then drove away in the vehicle. An investigation by the Oak Brook police led to Riola, who was arrested in Chicago later that day.

“While holiday shopping this year will undoubtedly be different from years past, I want to remind the public to remain alert this holiday season,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “I also want to assure DuPage County residents that our local police departments and my office will continue to do everything within our powers to ensure that residents will not have to worry about their personal safety while out shopping or otherwise enjoying the holidays.”

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