Cowan Hill Gets 12 Years for Armed Carjackings in Memphis

Memphis, TN — Cowan Hill, 44, is headed to federal prison for 151 months after being sentenced for two armed carjackings that terrorized victims in cold, daylight attacks. U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Parker handed down the sentence on November 18, 2021, ensuring Hill will serve more than a decade behind bars for crimes marked by violence, threats to kill, and the use of a firearm.

The first attack occurred December 8, 2019, on Cherry Road, where Hill approached a man warming up his 2004 Lincoln Aviator and pointed a gun at his face, ordering him out. When the victim hesitated, Hill struck him multiple times in the head and neck. As the victim ran for cover, blowing the horn to alert his wife, Hill fled in the SUV. The entire assault was recounted to Memphis Police, who launched an immediate investigation.

Just one week later, on December 15, 2019, Hill struck again — this time at a Shell gas station on Winchester Road. A 2011 Kia Sorento driver was pumping gas when Hill, identified as an older male, pulled him from the vehicle, screaming, “I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you.” The victim fought back, but Hill beat him repeatedly and gained control of the car, dragging the man 25 to 30 feet across the lot as he sped away. Surveillance video captured the brutal theft in full, showing the victim’s visible injuries to his head, neck, arms, and legs. Paramedics treated him at the scene.

Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Memphis Police Department quickly linked both crimes through victim identification. Cowan Hill was positively identified as the suspect in both carjackings. His criminal history — including a 2016 carjacking conviction — made him a prohibited person under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition. At the time of these attacks, Hill was on parole.

On July 13, 2021, Hill pleaded guilty to the charges in federal court. Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Murphy Jr. confirmed the guilty plea and subsequent sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Raney Irwin and Wendy Cornejo prosecuted the case, emphasizing the escalating danger posed by repeat violent offenders operating with impunity on city streets.

Hill’s 151-month sentence will be followed by five years of supervised release. With no parole in the federal system, Hill will serve every mandated day. The case stands as a grim reminder of the violent toll carjackings take on communities — and the consequences when felons reoffend with guns in hand.