Chicago Resident Andrew Anania Sentenced for Kidnapping and Assaulting Drivers; Walter Moran Found Guilty

CHICAGO (WLS) — A Chicago man was sentenced for kidnapping sexually assaulting multiple drivers at gunpoint.

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Andrew Anania, aged 29, has been convicted for a series of kidnappings and assaults in 2021, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

Authorities detailed that Anania abducted an Uber driver on March 8, 2021, in Darien. He brandished a firearm, compelling her to park in a Chicago alley where he then sexually assaulted her before fleeing.

Just two days after that incident, Anania, along with Walter Moran, kidnapped another woman on her commute to work in Cicero. During this encounter, Anania threatened the driver with a gun, forcing her to drive to Chicago. In Chicago, Moran engaged in gunfire with others, after which the duo eventually released the victim and took her vehicle.

Nearly four years after the crimes, a jury convicted Anania on kidnapping, carjacking, and firearm charges.

Anania had already pleaded guilty to kidnapping and sexually assaulting a driver on February 27, 2021. The woman escaped when the car stopped at an intersection. Anania fled and crashed the vehicle a short time later.

Officials said Anania committed all the assaults while awaiting trial in a separate federal firearm case.

U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang sentenced Anania to 50 years in prison in May 2025.

Moran, of Cicero, also pleaded guilty last year to kidnapping and carjacking charges. He was sentenced in April to 15 years and eight months in federal prison.