Man Accused of Carjacking Woman While Awaiting Trial for Firearm Possession Pleads Guilty, Avoids Prison Time

A man accused of carjacking a woman while awaiting trial for being a felon in possession of a firearm will not serve any time in an Illinois prison after pleading guilty in both cases, according to court records.

Josiah Noyola, 37, was initially released pending trial on May 30, 2021, to await trial on the gun possession charge. While that case moved through Cook County’s notoriously slow court system, prosecutors said Noyola was involved in a violent carjacking more than two years later.

According to Chicago police and court filings, Noyola and an unknown number of accomplices targeted a woman around 1:30 a.m. on July 25, 2023, in the 5200 block of South Damen Avenue. In a detention petition filed at the time of his arrest, prosecutors alleged the group kicked the woman before taking her car keys, vehicle, and phone. The filing also described Noyola as “a self-admitted gang member of Satan’s Disciples.”

Last Wednesday, Noyola pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery for the carjacking and to being a felon in possession of a firearm in connection with the 2021 case, court records show. Judge Kenneth Wadas sentenced Noyola to four years in prison on each count.

However, court records show Judge Kenneth Wadas ordered the sentences to run concurrently, meaning they would be served at the same time, even though the robbery occurred while Noyola was awaiting trial in the gun case.

By law, his four-year sentence was reduced to two years and he received credit for the 848 days he spent in jail awaiting trial. Those factors meant Noyola had already satisfied the required time on his sentence. Illinois Department of Corrections records show he was transferred to state custody last Thursday for routine intake processing. He was released the same day.

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