A neighbor armed with a gardening tool thwarted the carjacking of a woman outside her downtown Little Rock apartment Monday afternoon, police say.
The 25-year-old victim said someone approached the driver's side of her gray 2004 Toyota Camry around 2 p.m. at 1107 Cumberland St. as she was getting out of the vehicle.
“I’m sorry but I need your car,” the individual reportedly told the woman, according to a Little Rock Police Department report.
The stranger then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her from the vehicle, at which point she ran toward her apartment building, she told police.
A short time later, the would-be carjacker realized that the woman still had the car keys and began chasing after her across her backyard, the report states.
The woman said the assailant grabbed her as she reached her back door and threw her down the steps.
A 39-year-old neighbor told officers that he grabbed a gardening tool and ran after the would-be robber as he fled north in an alley between Cumberland and Rock streets.
About 15 to 20 minutes later, someone reported to police that a black male was opening vehicle doors in the 900 block of Rock Street.
That person, a 26-year-old, was later found in the 300 block of East 8th Street, where officers noticed him making gestures as if he was hiding a weapon in his pants.
“Shoot me, shoot me. I have a gun,” he reportedly said as officers drew their weapons.
Police deployed a stun gun on the man, causing him to roll around on the ground. The 26-year-old was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, fleeing and resisting arrest, authorities said.
The woman and neighbor did not identify him as the would-be robber from a lineup.
No arrests had been made in the attempted carjacking at the time of the report. The case will be sent to the prosecuting attorney's office, and robbery charges could be filed at a later date, police spokesman Steve Moore said.
