The first of two men accused of hijacking a woman’s car at knifepoint from a Villa Park parking lot while her two children were in the back seat has been sentenced to 19 years in prison.

Luis Gomez-Garcia, 30, formerly of Bensenville, entered a plea of guilty Feb. 15 to one count of aggravated kidnapping in front of Judge Michael Reidy, who handed down the sentence, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

On Oct. 10, 2021, Gomez-Garcia and his co-defendant, Christopher Krieg, 34, formerly of Carol Stream, each appeared in bond court where bond was denied for both men. They have both remained in custody at the DuPage County Jail since that time.

The case against Krieg is still pending with a next court date of March 10.

On Oct. 8, 2021, Villa Park police responded to a call of an aggravated carjacking in the parking lot of a shopping mall located at 270 W. North Avenue in Villa Park.

An investigation found that about 4:48 p.m., the victim and her children, ages 10 and 5, exited the mall and entered her vehicle. About one minute later, as the victim sat in the driver’s seat with the window down, Gomez-Garcia approached the car, put a knife with a 3.5-inch blade to the woman’s throat and told the victim to move over to the front passenger seat, according to the release.

As the victim moved over, Krieg allegedly entered the rear passenger area of the vehicle with the victim’s children. Gomez-Garcia allegedly ordered the victim to give him her property, which she did including her iPhone 11, Apple Watch and wallet. Gomez-Garcia allegedly told the victim to drive to her house, but the victim drove to a different location where she and her children were released from the vehicle. Gomez-Garcia allegedly told the victim not to contact the police. Gomez-Garcia and Krieg then fled in the victim’s vehicle, according to the release.

An investigation conducted by Villa Park police with assistance from Chicago Police led authorities to the 2900 block of West Harrison Street in Chicago. About 7:21 p.m., Chicago police located the victim’s vehicle at that address and allegedly found Krieg in the stolen vehicle and Gomez-Garcia about 10 feet away. Both men, who were armed with a knife, were taken into custody at that time, according to the release.

“The shockingly violent conduct that Mr. Gomez-Garcia pled guilty to this morning, which is also alleged against his co-defendant, is simply horrifying,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “I cannot begin to imagine the heart-stopping fear and terror this woman and her two young children were forced to endure while Mr. Gomez-Garcia held a knife to her throat and Mr. Krieg was allegedly in the back seat with the children. Thankfully neither the woman nor her children were physically harmed during this alleged incident.”