NORTH BRADDOCK, Pa. — Two men are in custody after a carjacking in Penn Hills Sunday.
Tyreon Williams, 20, of Braddock, and Jewell Thompson, 19, of Pittsburgh, face a slew of charges for allegedly holding a gun to a woman’s head and forcing her to drive before stealing her vehicle and crashing it into a wall in North Braddock.
According to the complaint, the woman was sitting in her Ford Edge at Reiter Road when Thompson and Williams got into the back seat. Williams allegedly held a gun to her head and told her to drive. They allegedly told her to pull over and get out less than a mile away on Hill Street. When she tried to take her purse with her, Williams and Thompson told her to leave it.
Police were able to locate the vehicle by using its emergency monitoring software.
Officers caught up with and tried to pull over the stolen car when they say the alleged driver — Thompson — made an abrupt U-turn and clipped a police car.
That led to a chase through multiple communities including North Versailles and East Pittsburgh before ending in a crash in North Braddock.
Police say Thompson lost control and crashed into a stone wall on Jones Avenue.
Officers recovered two guns from the vehicle. One of the guns had been reported stolen.
Williams is charged with robbery, robbery of a motor vehicle, false imprisonment, carrying a firearm without a license, criminal conspiracy, persons not to possess a firearm, simple assault and unlawful restraint.
Thompson is charged with criminal conspiracy, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, receiving stolen property, firearms not to be carried without a license, robbery and robbery of a motor vehicle, reckless endangerment, multiple traffic violations and attempting to flee.
The Pittsburgh region has seen a rash of recent carjackings — at least a dozen in recent weeks.
“It’s just how society’s going right now. It’s an easy thing for people to do,” said Penn Hills Police Chief Ronald Como. “I don’t know why they’re doing it, but it’s unfortunate.”
Thompson and Williams were arraigned and are being held at the Allegheny County Jail after failing to post bond.
They’re both due back in court in early November.
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