Minneapolis Man and Woman Plead Guilty to Violent Twin Cities Carjacking

 MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man and woman pleaded guilty to their roles in an armed carjacking that occurred last summer, announced Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk.

According to court documents, on August 28, 2020, Jeremiah Lee Ironrope, 24, and Krisanne Marie Benjamin, 25, drove a maroon SUV to a parking lot in Richfield, Minnesota, and parked next to a 2017 Audi A4. Ironrope exited the SUV and pointed a Remington 870 l2-gauge sawed-off shotgun at the driver of the Audi. Ironrope demanded the car keys and then drove off in the Audi while Benjamin followed in the SUV. The following day when law enforcement attempted to stop the solen Audi, Ironrope sped away, driving erratically through traffic. Officers lost sight of the vehicle but later found it after the defendants abandoned it. The vehicle had been partially spray-painted black and inside officers found a variety of property including a stolen wallet, bottles of spray paint, a hat, gloves, and a used 12-gauge shotgun shell under the driver’s seat.

As part of their guilty pleas, Ironrope and Benjamin admitted to two additional carjackings that occurred on July 26, 2020, in Maple Grove and August 7, 2020, in St. Paul. In both instances, the defendants physically assaulted the victims before stealing their vehicles. Ironrope also admitted to two December 2020 carjackings occurring in St. Louis Park and St. Paul. In both instances, Ironrope pointed a handgun at the victims before stealing their vehicles.

Ironrope pleaded guilty to one count of carjacking and one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Benjamin pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting carjacking.

“Twin Cities motorists are safer with these two off the streets,” said Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk. “Over the past year we have witnessed a spike in carjackings throughout the metro area. Federal law enforcement will not tolerate this type of crime on our streets and will continue to investigate and prosecute violent perpetrators such as this.”

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Minneapolis Police Department, the St. Paul Police Department, the Maple Grove Police Department, the Richfield Police Department, the Edina Police Department, the Roseville Police Department, and the Minnesota State Patrol.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan H. Nelson.