A man was arrested in Philadelphia on Saturday and charged in connection with a pair of carjackings in Bristol, where he allegedly threatened the victims with a syringe and told one of them he had AIDS, Bucks County prosecutors said.
Kevin O'Connell, whose address is unknown, faces charges of robbery, theft, terroristic threats, assault and related offenses following a frightening incident on Friday.
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Around 10 a.m., Bristol police were called to 200 Commerce Circle for a report of a stolen car. When officers arrived, they were flagged down by several people in the strip mall parking lot. Witnesses said a man had taken a woman's 2007 Toyota Camry.
Inside a Lab Corp clinic in the strip mall, police found the 83-year-old victim slumped down in a chair and bleeding from her arm and leg. She was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for her injuries.
The woman told investigators she had just finished an appointment at the clinic and was returning to her car when a man approached her passenger side window and asked her for a dollar to buy a drink.
When the woman refused to give the man money, he allegedly opened her car door and got inside. He told the woman he had AIDS and that he was going to inject her with a syringe, according to a criminal complaint. The man then grabbed the woman's keys and she began to honk the car horn, drawing the attention of others in the parking lot.
The man got out of the Camry and dropped the keys on the ground, but when the woman got out of the car to get the keys, the man allegedly picked them back up. He then jumped into the car and drove off, knocking the woman to the ground and injuring her.
During the investigation, police linked O'Connell to a second carjacking that happened in Bristol on March 16.
Around 9:20 that morning, police were called to the McDonald's at 7700 Bristol Pike, where a woman said she had been carjacked.
The woman told authorities that she had just parked her 2019 Chevrolet Trax when a man approached and entered the car on the passenger side.
“I’m a heroin addict and I have a needle get out of the car,” the man allegedly said.
Fearing for her safety, the woman fled the car with her keys, but the man was able to start the vehicle and flee because of its keyless ignition.
That car also was later tracked to Kensington and recovered by authorities. Investigators took multiple DNA swabs at the time. While investigating the Aug. 19 carjacking, the DNA samples were found to be a match with O'Connell, prosecutors said.
“This man’s arrest for two violent carjackings (is) as a result of great police work by Bristol Borough PD, and including cooperation from Philadelphia PD, in combination with modern DNA technology,” Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said. “Carjacking is still comparatively rare in Bucks County, and that’s as a consequence of joint law enforcement efforts like these. We will now focus our prosecution on deterring this man, and others from committing these violent acts in the future.”
Carjackings have spiked in Philadelphia over the last few years, more than tripling from 224 in 2019 to 847 in 2021. Through Aug. 23, there have already been 890 carjackings in the city, including attempts, police said Wednesday.
In January, authorities issued a notice advising the public to take certain precautions to minimize the risk of being targeted.
O'Connell is being held in Philadelphia and will be prosecuted in Bucks County.