On Wednesday April 10, a woman was allegedly carjacked after coming out of a west Detroit Dollar Store, where she and her 4-year-old son had been shopping for balloons. The incident took place in the middle of the day, when the woman was carjacked at gunpoint as she unlocked her car doors. There were two suspects who were said to be wearing black hooded sweatshirts; they emerged from an abandoned building when the woman unlocked the doors to get in her car, according to a news article at ClickonDetroit.com.
Two teenagers have since been arrested in the carjacking after Detroit police set up surveillance following a tip they received that the woman’s car was located at Grandmont and West Chicago. The two suspects, age 17 and 18, eventually came for the car. This is when police stopped them nearby, and arrested the 18-year-old after he fled on foot and was tracked to a garage with the assistance of the department’s K-9 Unit. A news report at Mlive.com stated that police also recovered the gun.
The 24-year-old woman was able to pull her son out of the back seat of the vehicle before the teens fled with the car. News reports state that the woman was panicking, thinking only of getting her son out of the car. All she remember seeing was the gun when one of the suspects approached her vehicle and demanded the car keys and money; she said she could not really see the teen’s faces. Once getting her son from the back seat, she ran for safety.
Michigan auto theft attorneys know that this is a very serious crime, particularly when the occupants of a vehicle are forced out by the use of a weapon or even the threat of violence. Those convicted may face a sentence of up to life in prison; if a police chase ensues, many defendants find themselves facing a minimum of 10 years behind bars.
If you have been arrested for or charged with carjacking or worse, carjacking and kidnapping, you must obtain the legal support and guidance of a skilled Michigan criminal defense lawyer in order to obtain positive results and protect your freedom.