MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An accused carjacker doesn’t get away away with he alleged crime for long.
Police tracked her down hours after the incident.
It happened at Southland Mall Monday night.
It took police about six hours to catch the suspect.
The carjacking happened around 8:30 p.m., and the suspect was caught just before 2:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.
As for what happened, we talked to a witness who saw the whole thing.
Darrell Gray knew something wasn’t right when he saw a group of young people driving around outside the mall.
“When we first pulled into the parking lot, I said these young cats are out here trolling. You know, it’s tax season,” Gray said.
Police say they targeted a 52-year-old woman who had just gotten in her car after leaving work.
“They boxed her in though. Those younglings jumped out, you know,” he said.
Gray says two men, one of them armed, demanded the woman get out of her car and leaver her purse.
She did, and they took off in her car.
They were followed by the car that came in, which had several people in it.
“The suspects hit two cars while trying to get away and backed into another car, like boom,” Gray said.
Hours later, police spotted the stolen car in Northeast Memphis.
They chased it all the way to Latham Street in South Memphis before the driver and passenger bailed out.
Police arrested 18-year-old Kasey Hopkins.
She’s faxing several charges, including carjacking and evading arrest.
“People work too hard for they s*** for people to try to rob them, carjack them, this and that,” Gray said. “Then it’s kids who are the ones doing it now. My advice to their parents is, man, if you love your kids, they better not try to carjack me or I’m going to blow they a** off. Straight up.”
Gray says he carries a gun for protection, especially after getting his thumb shot off by a robber years ago.
“I tried to take the gun from him,” he said.
As for the carjacking, “I just couldn’t believe that they did that at the mall with people walking around and s***.”
Again, a number of people were involved in the carjacking. So we asked MPD if officers are looking to make more arrests, be we have not heard back.
