Milwaukee Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Armed Carjacking

MINNEAPOLIS – A Milwaukee man has pleaded guilty to the attempted armed carjacking of an elderly victim, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger. 

According to court documents, on September 1, 2023, William Jones, 32, attempted to carjack an elderly victim at gunpoint in south Minneapolis. Jones, and a co-conspirator who served as the get-away driver, drove to a market near the intersection of Chicago and Franklin Avenues. Jones approached the 79-year-old victim, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of his vehicle, placed a gun against the victim’s head and demanded the keys. The victim grabbed Jones’s gun and as the two wrestled over the gun, Jones discharged the gun, injuring the victim’s finger. The victim ran away after being injured and Jones took the victim’s keys and cell phone. Jones tried to start the victim’s vehicle but, unbeknownst to Jones, the keys he had taken from the victim did not include the key to the vehicle. Jones fled the scene in the get-away vehicle that was parked across the street. Jones discarded his gun and the victim’s cell phone in an alley several blocks away. 

Jones pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court before Judge David S. Doty to one count of attempted carjacking. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI And the Minneapolis Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. McBride is prosecuting the case.