Mount Vernon man gets 8 years in federal prison for two shootings, carjacking

A convicted felon who carjacked a 70-year-old woman outside a Mount Vernon church in 2022 as detectives were chasing him following a shooting in Yonkers was sentenced Friday to eight years in federal prison.

Christopher "Mad Max" Smith, 28, of Mount Vernon pleaded guilty last year to carjacking and two counts of felon in possession of ammunition. He faced a guideline sentence of nine years in prison that U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams in Manhattan was required to consider.

Smith was not immediately caught after the Sept. 19, 2022 carjacking. Two months later, he shot at a man he was living with in the Bronx after they argued about the quality of marijuana Smith had given him.

According to prosecutors, the carjacking came following a lengthy pursuit by police after Smith had reportedly fired out of a car at a group of men he had tried to get to sell drugs for him outside a Yonkers convenience store.

The car was driven by a friend of Smith’s. When police in Mount Vernon attempted to pull over the car, Smith sat on the man's lap and tried to drive off. But the man had activated the emergency brake, worried Smith would try to ram the police cars.

Smith ran off. Thirty minutes later, with a detective pursuing him, Smith demanded that a woman approached her Jeep after leaving church give him her keys. He yanked the keys from her and drove off before the detective could stop him.

Smith's lawyer, Richard Ma, requested a two-year prison term, citing his client's mental health issues and troubled upbringing that involved neglect and abuse. The judge received a detailed letter from Smith's girlfriend supporting leniency for him and expressing hope he will continue living with her and her two children.

Prosecutors emphasized in their sentencing memo that the girlfriend has had three orders of protecion against Smith and called 911 to report abusive behavior by him nine times in 2022.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Mount Vernon NY man gets federal prison for carjacking outside church