Repeat carjacker taken down by owner of muscle car he tried to steal, Tennessee cops say
An armed 18-year-old approached a man at a Tennessee gas station and demanded his Dodge Charger, police said.
The man fought back, and Memphis Police said he managed to hold down the would-be carjacker until officers arrived and arrested him.
The man was charged in connection with the attempted Sept. 3 carjacking and another carjacking Aug. 31, according to an arrest affidavit from Shelby County.
The 18-year-old was wearing a ski mask when he pulled up to the gas station in Memphis on Sept. 3, according to an arrest affidavit from Shelby County. He pointed a gun at the owner of the Charger and demanded the car, Memphis police said.
As the suspect was about to get in the car, its owner grabbed him “and a physical confrontation ensued over the handgun,” police said in the affidavit.
The gun went off during the struggle and struck the inside of the car, police said.
Eventually, police said the owner of the car managed to get hold of the handgun. He held the 18-year-old on the ground until police arrived and arrested him, according to the affidavit.
When the man was arrested, he told police he had taken part in another carjacking only a few days earlier, police wrote in the affidavit.
On Aug. 31, the 18-year-old and another man approached the owner of a Nissan Rogue and demanded the car and her belongings, according to a second arrest affidavit from Shelby County.
The 18-year-old grabbed the woman’s iPhone and pressed a gun to her head, telling her to move away from her car, police say. The other man got in the passenger seat, police said, and the 18-year-old got in the driver’s seat and drove away, according to the affidavit.
The woman later picked out the 18-year-old from a lineup, officials said.
Court records show he is being represented by a Memphis public defender, who McClatchy News could not immediately reach.
This story was originally published September 5, 2023 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Repeat carjacker taken down by owner of muscle car he tried to steal, Tennessee cops say."