There was chaos in a Jersey City courtroom yesterday when a woman convicted of a brutal carjacking began screaming when she heard the judge sentence her to 15 years in prison.

The moment Superior Court Judge Patrick Arre said, "15 years," Latoya Campbell, 20, became hysterical, as did her family members sitting in the courtroom.

Campbell, of Newark, began screaming "No! No! No!" over and over, struggling against her handcuffs and squirming in her chair at the defense table.

Campbell's family members then shouted and stood up. Arre was quickly whisked off the bench by sheriff's officers.

Campbell was dragged out of the courtroom and could be heard screaming in the courthouse hallway as she was led away. After leaving the courtroom, her mother could be heard screaming in the hallway for a few minutes, and was still yelling as the elevator doors closed behind her.

In the courtroom, one woman cursed at court personnel and said, "People don't even get that much for murder." She said Campbell's sentence would have been lighter if she were white.

Later, Campbell waived her appearance and court reconvened at about 1:15 p.m. Her friends and family were barred from the hearing.

Arre sentenced Campbell to 15 years for the carjacking and five years for bail jumping, with the two terms to run consecutively. She was also sentenced to five years each for hindering apprehension, fraudulent use of a credit card and drug possession, but those terms will run concurrent to the others.

In total, Campbell could spend up to 20 years in prison and will not be eligible for parole until after serving nearly 13 years. She also faces charges in Essex County.

"The judge gave a fair sentence," said Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Seth Galkin.

Campbell was convicted in January in connection with the Oct. 11, 2009 carjacking in which she and a 17-year-old girl ambushed a 34-year-old Cator Avenue woman in the parking deck at Newport Centre Mall in Jersey City.

The victim tried to get into the driver's seat of her Toyota Scion, but Campbell and the girl beat her about the head and sped away with the victim's purse still in the vehicle, reports said. The victim suffered a broken nose, black eyes and a scraped knee.

Campbell disappeared while the jury was deliberating her case and she became a fugitive. She was found in Elizabeth in March and during her capture a police officer was injured by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Before being sentenced, Campbell told Arre: "I would like to apologize for all the trouble I have caused. I didn't mean to harm anyone." She said she has done more good than bad in her life and asked for a chance to "prove that I am not a bad person or a threat to society."

Earlier in the hearing, Campbell's mother spoke, asking Arre for leniency and insisting on her daughter's innocence.

"At the time of the crime she was with me," the mother said. She said she had wanted to testify at trial but her daughter's attorney, Garret Fruchtman, refused to let her.

Fruchtman said there had been no such conversation. When the mother said it a second time, Arre said: "I don't want to hear that again. That is not my recollection from trial."

The mother turned to Fruchtman and said, "I'm telling you right now, this is just the beginning."; Arre told sheriff's officers to remove the mother if she had another outburst.