PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Delaware County woman on Wednesday was sentenced to eight years behind bars for a carjacking in South Philadelphia in January.
On Jan. 31, around 7 p.m., Nateirah Ortiz, 25, of Upper Darby carjacked a man near 11th Street and Washington Avenue, according to court documents.
The man says, as he was walking toward his car, a silver 2018 Toyota RAV4, Ortiz pointed a gun in his face and demanded his keys. After handing them over, he ran to a nearby business to call 911 as Ortiz drove off.
About two hours later, police pulled her over in Kensington and tried to investigate. When they got out of their cars, which were parked in front of and behind the RAV4, Ortiz sped away and nearly hit one of the police cars.
Officers eventually found Ortiz in Port Richmond, having crashed the Toyota into several parked cars on Richmond Street near Castor Avenue.
Police say she was walking away when they apprehended her, and they recovered a loaded handgun lying under a van parked nearby.
“Gunpoint carjackings are terrifying for victims and unsettling for the entire community,” U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said.
Eric DeGree, special agent in charge of the Philadelphia division of ATF, who helped the investigation, called the carjacking, “a senseless and dangerous crime” and said Ortiz was “endangering the neighborhood and police” by speeding away and wrecking cars.
Since pleading guilty to the charges in August, Ortiz will serve eight years in prison, plus five more years of supervised release for the carjacking.