Police arrest man in carjacking of WWII vet
Mar 2, 2012, 9:08 PM | Updated: 9:08 pm
DETROIT (AP) – A man suspected in connection with the daylight attack and carjacking of an 86-year-old World War II veteran at a busy Detroit gas station was arrested Friday, police said.
Detroit police spokesman Sgt. Eren Stephens said the unidentified 21-year-old was apprehended about 1:30 a.m. Wayne County prosecutors said they haven’t yet received a warrant request.
A message was left Friday for the victim, Aaron Brantley. Brantley told The Associated Press last Saturday that nobody helped him right after he was knocked down and his car was stolen Feb. 22 at the station on the city’s west side. A surveillance video shows Brantley crawling and seeking help, and several people walking or driving by him.
“People were passing me just like I wasn’t there. … I was crawling and they just walk by me like I’m not there,” he said.
Brantley said as he approached the building, he asked a woman to open the door for him. He said at first it appeared she wasn’t going to but she did and then kept walking. He found it distressing that nobody helped him.
“Any time a person is crawling on the ground, you know something happened to them,” he said.
Police also released video showing Brantley paying the cashier before the carjacking. A man who authorities say is the suspect looked at Brantley and left.
Brantley, who retired after a 31-year career as a welder at Chrysler, said he was coming home from a morning Bible study. His said he recently bought the car, a Chrysler 200, to replace another car that had been stolen.
Gas station manager Haissam Jaber said he was glad the surveillance videos were helpful in the investigation. He hopes the arrest _ along with the cameras inside and outside the station _ will make people think “more than once” about committing crime.
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