Three Atlanta men are headed to prison for stealing an SUV with a baby inside three years ago and leading police on a high-speed chase through Cobb County, prosecutors said.
The men, Patrick Watson, Marquise Barnes and Lamarcus Jackson, pleaded guilty to carjacking, kidnapping and other charges after Watson stole a Jeep Grand Cherokee from a Smyrna QuikTrip with an 8-month-old girl in the backseat.
The “slider” theft occurred Sept. 6, 2016, as the baby’s father was pumping gas at the intersection of South Cobb Drive and Cumberland Parkway, AJC.com previously reported.
Thieves steal car w/baby in back seat. The dad was pumping gas. Thieves jumped in when he went to check on child. pic.twitter.com/tNRrs64qSW
— Carl Willis (@CarlWillisTV) September 7, 2016
According to prosecutors, five men arrived at the gas station in a Toyota Camry stolen earlier that day from DeKalb County. After stealing the sedan, the men drove to Cobb, where they spotted a woman driving a Mercedes and followed her home from a Kroger. When she arrived at her house, Watson pointed a gun at her and demanded her keys, prosecutors said.
He was unable to start her car, however, and returned to the Camry with the woman’s keys. About 20 minutes later, the group arrived at the QuikTrip in Smyrna.
Surveillance footage showed the stolen Camry pull up next to the Jeep Grand Cherokee at the pump. Watson hopped out of the passenger seat and into the Jeep before both vehicles sped away, authorities said.
Smyrna police spotted the stolen SUV a short time later and a high-speed chase ensued. The pursuit came to an end when Watson crashed the Jeep into a tree, causing the baby’s car seat to dislodge from its base and fall.
“Officers located the infant still strapped in her car seat, which was upside down and wedged behind the driver’s seat,” the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. “Miraculously, the baby girl was not seriously injured.”
A mother reunited with her child after thieves steal a car w/ baby in the back seat. Mother says the child is fine. pic.twitter.com/io4zrWNlgv
— Carl Willis (@CarlWillisTV) September 7, 2016
Watson ran away after the crash, as did the occupants of the Camry, who were also involved in the police chase, authorities said.
Barnes and Jackson were eventually caught by police, and two others inside the stolen car were arrested several weeks later, prosecutors said. Watson, the driver of the jeep, wasn’t identified as a suspect in the case until the fall of 2018.
He pleaded guilty to armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle, robbery by sudden snatching, kidnapping a child under 14, and several other offenses, prosecutors said. He was given a life sentence on Friday, with the first 25 years in prison and the remainder on probation, according to the DA’s office.
Barnes and Jackson also pleaded guilty and received life sentences. Barnes will serve the next 17 years behind bars, while Jackson was given a 15-year prison sentence, authorities said.
The other two suspects charged were not identified. Authorities said one was a youth and the other was sentenced as a first offender.
“As parents, our job is to protect our children," said Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Green, who prosecuted the case. “In one split second, these defendants took that ability away from a father and caused him so much pain as he could only chase his own vehicle as his infant was being taken away. Nothing will erase this nightmare ... nothing.”
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