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Chicago man pleaded guilty in Ottawa stolen car case

Chicago man was one of 3 charged from March 16

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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.

Tom Collins

Tom Collins

Tom Collins covers criminal justice in La Salle County.