Women struck in carjackings

6/15/2002

Two carjackings occurred in Toledo early yesterday, one of which involved a woman who was asleep in a passenger seat and was hit across the face with a handgun when she awoke, police said.

Police said that car theft occurred at 3:30 a.m. in South Toledo, when a man entered the car, which had been left running outside 1545 Hamilton St. by Brandon Lino of Thatcher Drive.

Mr. Lino told police the car was taken just after he ran inside the residence at the Hamilton address. Mr. Lino said he left his girlfriend, Tameka Warnatt, of Brookview Drive, asleep in the passenger seat, police said.

The woman woke up as the car headed east on Hamilton near Pulaski Street. She was struck by an object she believes to have been a gun when she tried looking at the thief who was driving the car. He told her not to look at him, police said.

Within a block or so, she was pushed from the car, police said.

The vehicle was found, unoccupied, at Brookley Boulevard and Victory Avenue after it had struck a fire hydrant. Police said they believe it ran over a stop sign at Brookley and Avondale avenues just before that.

Another carjacking occurred at 4:05 a.m. in North Toledo.

In that incident, Dawn Spahr, 32, was driving west on Russell Street when she was forced out of her car while stopped at a stop sign at Mulberry Street. The thief was a man who got off a bicycle, grabbed the woman by the throat, and punched her in the face, police said.