Carjacker steals vehicle with owner trapped in door

August 6, 2003
Akron NewsChannel5

AKRON, Ohio -- It's bad enough that someone would steal your car, but imagine a car thief driving off with part of you still in the vehicle.

Jessie Mooneyham's physical bruises will heal, but it's the emotional scars that will last.

"My hand's all messed up, my arm," she said. "I can't sleep at night."

Mooneyham wanted a pop when she stopped off at an area gas station. Instead, she came face to face with a carjacker who sped off in her car with her hand stuck in the door. One witness described the scene to a 911 operator.

"I saw him dragging her across the parking lot," the witness said. "She was hanging in the window."

"I got enough strength, reached up and put my legs around here and then I started punching him," Mooneyham said. "I don't know how I did it. I opened the door and flew this way and this way."

Mooneyham said the ordeal made her life flash before her eyes.

Akron police Capt. Daniel Zampelli said there are ways people can protect themselves if they are trapped in a similar situation. [Just last week, Zampanelli was quoted in the Akron Beacon-Journal telling readers that people who fight back are "putting themselves in harm's way".]

"Keeping your doors locked, keeping keys and purses out of sight in the interior," Zampelli said. "If you need to go into a store and leave property in the car, lock it in the trunk beforehand."

Also, if you find yourself in Mooneyham's shoes, officials said to give the vehicle to the carjacker.

"I was gonna let him have the car," she said. "I just wanted my hand back."

Another prevention tip is to have your keys out when you return to the car. Check the front and back seats before you get in, and if your car is bumped from behind and you don't feel comfortable getting out, drive to a safe location and then call police.

OFCC PAC Commentary:
We must admit, we're confused about the mixed messages coming from some in law enforcement on how victims should behave when carjacked.

Let's examine this advice for preventing carjacking, and see how the advice could have played out if two recent carjack victims had the option to, (and had chosen to) obtain a CCW license under the Senate's version of HB12:

• Ohio State Highway Patrol Capt. John Born says "We do not want a loaded firearm readily accessible to the driver of a car. If there's a dangerous situation and you're in your car, you can drive off."

Tony Gordon tried to "drive off" from a carjacker on Dayton Tuesday. Dayton police Lt. John Huber said "Mr. Gordon, tried to drive away and was shot for it" - he was shot and killed trying to follow the OSHP's advice.

• Akron police Capt. Zampelli was quoted in the Akron Beacon Journal last week (following another carjacking) with the following advice for victims of violent carjacking - "The first thing people should do is notify police,'' Zampelli said. [When fighting back], "you put yourself in harm's way.... It places you in greater danger.'' "It's our job (to catch criminals). We're trained for it.''

Ms. Mooneyham was saved by fighting back - she managed to free herself from the speeding vehicle only after she began punching her atatcker in the face.

• Zampanelli says the "The first thing people should do is notify police."

Ms. Mooneyham didn't have the chance to call the police, given that her hand was stuck in the door of her stolen vehicle as the carjacker drove away. Tony Gordon didn't get the opportunity to call the police before he was murdered.

• "Keeping your doors locked, keeping keys and purses out of sight in the interior," Zampelli said.

As amended by the Senate, HB12 would require license-holders to keep their firearms plainly visible while in the vehicle. So the Akron police department says it's not safe even to let criminals spot keys or a purse in your car, but the Senate wants to make it law to expose your firearm.

• "If you need to go into a store and leave property in the car, lock it in the trunk beforehand," Zampelli said.

Since Ms. Mooneyham was buying a pop at a gas station where alcohol is sold, and if she obtained a CCW license under the Senate's Am. Sub. HB12, she would have been required to disarm while entering the store. The suggestion to lock valuables in the trunk would require license-holders to exit their vehicles at "victim zones" where firearms are banned, open their trunk, remove their firearm from it's holster (required to be so contained by the Senate under Am. Sub HB12), unload it, and place it in the trunk. All the while, potential attackers would have been watching.

• There are some crimes in which victims are encouraged to fight their attackers, including abduction attempts, Zampelli said. But the general rule for victims of property crimes is to let the bad guy go."

Unfortunately for many victims (like Tony Gordon), they don't always get a chance to "let the bad guy go." And the Ohio Senate and Gov. Taft continues to make certain that NO law-abiding citizens can take Zampeli's advice to "fight back" when the right type of vicitimization happens to them.

Click here to read about the attack on Jessie Mooneyham from Akron's NewsChannel5.

Click here to read "Let police pursue bad guys" in the Akron's Beacon-Journal