Attempted Carjacking Defendant Also Behind Several Thefts, Cops Say

The man who attempted to carjack an SUV with a young child in the back seat was arraigned early Thursday morning.

Donald Wayne Darnell Jr., 31, of Falls Township’s Levittown section, was the suspect who attempted to take the SUV of a mom who was pumping gas Wednesday morning. He jumped into the vehicle while at the Sunoco at the intersection of New Falls Road and Penn Valley Road in Falls Township, according to police.

The woman jumped in the passenger seat of the vehicle once Darnell tried to make off and told him her young child was in the back seat. At that point, Darnell left the vehicle and ran away on Penn Valley Road toward the Birch Valley neighborhood, where he lived.

Police collected a half-empty bottle of Gatorade that Darnell reportedly left in the SUV.

Surveillance images and video of the incident were first released on LevittownNow.com and other media outlets later in the day. Shortly after, tips began coming in to investigators.

A Bucks County Adult Probation and Parole Department officer first called police and said she recognized Darnell from previous contacts. A short time later, Darnell’s boyfriend contacted police and said Darnell admitted to the attempted carjacking, according to court papers.

Investigators arrived at the home where Darnell lived on Blue Spruce Lane.

Shortly after, Darnell pulled up to find detectives.

Police said Darnell ran into the nearby greenbelt and creek. Officers chased after the 31-year-old man and let a K-9 dog go after him.

Lt. Hank Ward said Darnell was taken into custody and treated for minor injuries sustained during his arrest.

“Donald admitted that he got into [the woman’s] vehicle and attempted to steal it. He did not know that there was a child in the vehicle until [the woman] had entered the vehicle and told him so,” investigators wrote in court papers filed early Thursday.

Darnell also admitted to a number of unsolved thefts in Falls Township, Ward said, adding more charges will be added later.

Darnell, according to authorities, was on probation at the time of his arrest.

The 31 year old was arraigned before an on-call district judge at midnight on charges of robbery of a motor vehicle, theft, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, and reckless endangerment. He was sent to county lockup in lieu of 10 percent of $200,000 bail.

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.