Kidnapping, theft charges filed against suspect in double carjacking and chase throughout Philly
A woman and her two young children were in the first vehicle that the alleged carjacker took. Philadelphia has been experiencing a dramatic rise in carjackings that officials can't explain.
A North Philadelphia man was charged with kidnapping, theft, and related offenses Saturday in connection with a double carjacking late Friday night in which police say he first took the vehicle of a pizza delivery man whose wife and young children were inside it and then one from a woman before leading officers on a harrowing chase over more than two hours.
Marcel Jenkins, 33, was also charged with aggravated and simple assault in connection with injuries to a police officer during his arrest, said a spokesperson for District Attorney Larry Krasner.
Philadelphia has been experiencing a dramatic rise in carjackings that officials have been hard-pressed to explain. In January, there were 59, up from 18 at the same time last year, The Inquirer recently reported.
» READ MORE: Carjackings spike dramatically in Philly, breaking records this year
The events Friday began about 8:40 p.m. as a delivery man for City View Pizza made a stop at Broad Street and Erie Avenue in North Philadelphia, police said.
The delivery man’s wife and two daughters, ages 4 and 2, were inside the black Saturn L200 when Jenkins jumped in and sped away southbound on Broad, police said. Around 9:30 p.m., the Saturn hit five vehicles in the parking lot of Police Headquarters at Seventh and Race Streets in Center City before fleeing that area, according to police and the District Attorney’s Office.
Around 10 p.m., in the city’s Spring Garden section, Jenkins left the Saturn — and its passengers — near Spring Garden and 21st Streets and took a Toyota Scion from a 29-year-old woman, police said.
Several police cruisers pursued the Scion into South Philadelphia, where police said it hit one vehicle at 11th Street and Washington Avenue at 10:36 p.m. before continuing eastbound on Washington. Footage filmed by TV helicopters show the pursuit then heading into Center City, at one point looping around Police Headquarters, with the Scion ultimately heading onto a snow-covered pathway inside Franklin Square Park at Sixth and Race Streets. There the driver opened his window, held his hands high, and surrendered.
Police pulled Jenkins from the car and took him into custody as a law enforcement helicopter equipped with a bright spotlight illuminated the arrest from above. The DA’s Office said an officer was injured in the process, shortly after 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
Capt. Nicholas DeBlasis told NBC10 that officers had to use their stun guns to subdue Jenkins. DeBlasis said that during the chase, the suspect “did doughnuts and gave officers the middle finger.”
Jenkins was being held on $750,000 bail and a detainer, and a mental health evaluation was ordered by the court, according to the DA’s spokesperson.
It was unclear why the pizza delivery man had his family riding along with him. No injuries to them or the Scion’s owner were reported.