HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – A man who tried — and failed — to carjack another man’s Ford F-150 at a Hollywood shopping plaza turned his attention to a nearby McDonald’s and a woman’s Mercury Milan, successfully stealing the sedan, police said.
But Hollywood police said license plate reader data quickly traced the vehicle down to an area just outside of Fort Lauderdale, where the suspect was located and arrested.
Accused carjacker Edward James Dawson, 34, of Pompano Beach, is now facing six charges.
Authorities said the one-man crime wave began just before 7:45 a.m. Wednesday when Dawson tried to steal the man’s truck while he was in the Oakwood Plaza shopping center off Stirling Road and Interstate 95.
Police said Dawson walked up to the red pickup, opened the door and “began forcibly removing the victim from the vehicle” and punching him.
But, authorities said the victim — and a bystander — fought back.
An arrest report states Dawson briefly gained control of the victim’s keys, and the truck, hitting the bystander with the pickup in the knee. But police said the victim and bystander were able to regain control and Dawson took off.
Dawson left the victim bleeding from the nose and the bystander with right knee pain, the report states.
Authorities said then set his sights on the gold Mercury Milan at the nearby Golden Arches at 2690 Stirling Road, police said.
The report states a woman was inside her car waiting to order food when Dawson walked up, opened her passenger’s side door, sat down and told her, “I need this car.”
Police said she told him “no” and asked him to get out. But, according to the report, Dawson didn’t take no for an answer, grabbing her arm and taking her keys.
The woman got out, fearing for her own safety, and Dawson took off with the sedan, police said.
Authorities said Fort Lauderdale police and Broward deputies were able to track down the car and Dawson to the area of Sunrise Boulevard and Northwest Ninth Court, in the unincorporated Franklin Park area, and took him into custody.
Both victims identified Dawson as the perp, according to the report.
Dawson, whose charges include carjacking, aggravated battery, and burglary with assault or battery, was being held without bond in the Broward Main Jail as of Thursday afternoon.