Man Who Drove Car Off BMW Lot With Employee Inside Sentenced

Reginald Brown, of Dulzura, pleaded guilty to attempted carjacking and resisting arrest in the November incident

A man who got in a BMW and drove it off the lot with an employee inside, crashing into two cars in a carjacking escape, was sentenced Tuesday. 

Reginald Brown, of Dulzura, pleaded guilty to attempted carjacking and resisting arrest. He was sentenced to three years formal felony probation and 365 days in jail. The judge authorized an early release to a residential rehab facility if a spot becomes available. 

Police say Brown got into a vehicle at a BMW dealership on Lemon Avenue in November. An employee climbed into the passenger side to get the suspect out, but Brown refused, according to El Cajon police. Instead, he revved up the car and started to drive it from the dealership – with the employee still inside.

But after Brown hit two parked cars, he decided to take off on foot.

Jack Leary, a Vietnam veteran and former police officer, took it upon himself to arrest the carjacker when he tried to escape. He knew something was wrong when he saw the employees with shovels in their hands chasing Brown. He watched as the suspect fled into an alley and came his way.

"He comes flying out of this yard, comes over about two-and-a-half-foot fence and runs up to my car and asks 'Can you get me out of here?' And I said, 'Oh yeah,'" Leary told NBC 7. Leary was driving a vehicle wrapped in police and military appreciation messages.

Brown threw the door open and got in. Leary instructed him to put on his seat belt.

"And as soon as he put his seat belt on, I reached over and latched onto his left forearm and said, 'You’re under arrest,'" Leary said.

The former officer told Brown to stay perfectly still while he called police.

When officers arrived, they found Leary standing outside his vehicle with Brown still inside, refusing to come out.

Officers arrested Brown when they arrived. 

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