Carl Eugene Jones, 31 of Chesapeake Beach, Md. was convicted on charges of carjacking and assault on May 21. He faces a maximum sentence of 40 years. Sentencing is set for Oct. 12 at 9:30 a.m.
On July 15, 2003, Jones is alleged to have stolen a car in Baltimore and driven it down I-95 before getting off the Beltway at River Road. The car ran out of gas near Clewerwall Drive and he got out.
Jones then flagged down a Mercedes SUV driven by Marna Plaia of Great Falls, pulled her out and drove off in it with her two young children still in the car.
“It was a tremendously emotional and traumatic experience for Marna Plaia from the moment she was thrown to the pavement,” said Montgomery County State’s Attorney Doug Gansler (D).
Jones lead police on a chase to the Annapolis Bay Bridge and back, eventually being stopped by police at the Anne Arundel-Prince George’s County line.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict on kidnapping charges with the vote stuck at 11-1, Gansler said. “We had to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he was aware that the children were in the back seat in Montgomery County,” Gansler said.
Initially, the defense had implied that they were going to say that Jones was too high on illegal drugs to know that the children were in the car, but a such a defense is not valid in Maryland Gansler said.
Gansler thinks it is unlikely that Montgomery County will attempt to re-try on the kidnapping charges. “We were very pleased with the verdict,” Gansler said.
Noting that Jones faces the possibility of being in jail until he is 70, Gansler does not see a need to put the victims through another trial. “It was a harrowing experience,” Gansler said. “Certainly not one we want to put the victim through again with no real upside.”
Jones has also been charged with car theft in Baltimore and attempted murder in Anne Arundel County for actions taken against police officers during the car chase, Gansler said. Anne Arundel has already filed a formal request with Montgomery County to have Jones placed into their custody for a trial there, Gansler said.
<1b>—Ari Cetron