Michael C. Pearson Indicted in Chicago Carjacking at Gunpoint

Michael C. Pearson, 18, of Chicago, is facing federal charges after a grand jury indicted him on carjacking and firearm counts for allegedly stealing a 2006 Buick Lucerne at gunpoint in the city’s Uptown neighborhood. The violent incident unfolded on the afternoon of July 28, 2020, when Pearson allegedly forced two victims out of their vehicle before firing a handgun during the hijacking. Neither victim sustained injuries in the attack.

The indictment, returned Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, charges Pearson with one count of carjacking and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. He remains in law enforcement custody, with arraignment on the federal charges pending. The firearm charge alone carries a maximum sentence of life in federal prison, while the carjacking count is punishable by up to 15 years behind bars.

The charges were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, alongside FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Emmerson Buie, Jr., and Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office provided critical support in building the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Albert Berry III is prosecuting the case for the federal government.

“Carjacking is a senseless act of violence that has no place in our society,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch. “Our office is committed to working closely with the FBI, CPD, and other law enforcement partners to pursue and prosecute violent offenders. The carjacking and gun charges announced today are the direct result of that strong partnership.”

FBI SAC Buie emphasized the role of Operation Legend, the Department of Justice initiative targeting violent crime in Chicago. “This indictment proves that Operation Legend is working, and is successfully getting violent criminals off the streets of our city,” Buie said. The FBI and CPD Vehicular Hijacking Taskforce, he added, will continue to pursue justice for those responsible for such intolerable acts.

The case was brought under Operation Legend, launched in Chicago on July 22, 2020, following a surge in violent crime. Since then, federal agencies including the FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals, and DEA have flooded resources into the city. More than 60 defendants have been charged with federal violent crime offenses, over 30 of them on lead firearms charges. The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Pearson is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.