Local Carjacking

“Holy Crap, I work with this lady!!!...sorry it's so long but you gotta read what their son Andrew told one of the carjackers, 6th line from the bottom

Indy man helps rescue own sons from carjacking
Man, wife briefly had left the vehicle idling before 2 teens jumped in and sped away

By Raygan Swan
raygan.swan@indystar.com
A father risked his own life Sunday to chase thieves who took his family's car from the driveway with his sons in the back seat.

The thieves ditched the car less than a mile away and shot at the man three times before leaving the children unharmed.
"I'm feeling like God had his hand on me and my family today," said Tom Ardizone, whose car was idling outside his family's Northwestside home when it was stolen. "It's only through God that we all got through this OK."
The string of events began about 1:30 p.m. Sunday, when Tom Ardizone and his wife Shawn, of the 6600 block of Antelope Lane, left the boys alone in the back seat of her Acura TL, idling in the driveway, while the couple made a quick dash back into their home.
When Ardizone, 37, returned to the vehicle, he saw a stranger driving the car out of the driveway as the boys, 4-year-old Luke and 7-year-old Andrew, screamed for help.
The boys' mother, Shawn Ardizone, 36, ran toward the car, shouting at the driver to stop.
"All I could think was, 'God please protect them,' that's all I could think -- keep them safe," she said.
Ardizone said he jumped into the family SUV and took off after the suspects who headed south on Lafayette Road. He also called 911.
Three of Ardizone's neighbors who saw the commotion also went after the suspects in their vehicles.
Ardizone was close behind when he saw the car thieves pull off the road and get out near the intersection of Lafayette Road and Shanghai Road, leaving the children inside.
As Ardizone pulled up alongside his wife's car, the suspect pointed a gun at him, he said.
Three shots were fired, Ardizone said. One hit a tire, another went through the vehicle and the third hit Ardizone. He suffered a superficial wound to the buttocks and was treated at Methodist Hospital and released.
The suspects, later identified only as 16- and 17-year-old boys, fled in a silver Ford Escape that was reported stolen on Friday, police said.
Marion County Sheriff's deputies later apprehended them.
Capt. Brian Mahone said parents need to be more mindful of leaving children in unlocked, running vehicles.
"You're inviting criminals to run with your children," he said.
Statistics also show that roughly a quarter to a third of the more than 6,000 cars stolen in Marion County last year had the keys left inside.
Ardizone said the wireless communication technology in his wife's car, called Bluetooth, helped end the chase.
"Basically, when I called 911, the man in the Acura could hear the (police) dispatch come on and say 'What's your emergency?' " Ardizone said.
That's when his older son, Andrew, screamed for help.
Andrew told the driver if he didn't stop the car he would hit him in the head with his Star Wars Lightsaber, Ardizone said.
The suspect threaten to shoot the boy, Ardizone said.
Ardizone said the suspect fled before sheriff's deputies converged on the scene.
"Like they say, it's your worst possible nightmare," Ardizone said Sunday evening.”

“Is this her son?

”

“Don't think it's a good idea to leave young children unattended especially in a running vehicle.”

“what's scary is my wife and i are notorious for forgetting stuff and running back into the house to get it...we'll have to modify that when the baby gets here”

“While I agree with Cat....we are seeing a rise in Juvenile thefts...most of the tough kids know that they can get away virtually scot free as a juvnile.”

““Don't think it's a good idea to leave young children unattended especially in a running vehicle.”

true, but you'd think that in your own driveway, in a nice subdivision for just a few seconds wouldn't be that bad”

“More than 20 years ago...I tried to follow and chase down a stolen car with my Chevrolet Chevette. I had just gotten into my car when a woman ran out of a corner store screaming hysterically...her car was being stolen.

Unfortunately my puny underpowered Chevette couldn't even keep up 1/4 block with the other car.”

“ahhh chevettes, that brings back memories...in high school before me or any of my friends got a car the only car we could borrow was my friends parents chevette...that car is indestructible...sometimes the gas pedal would stick and you'd have to actual lift up on it with your foot”

“I had an old wheezy Pontiac Hatchback. It got stolen from the front of the summer business I was working at.
I didn't see it get stolen, but as I was leaving one of my coworkers told me they thought they saw me leaving a couple of hours ago. I called the cops, the officer came up and was laughing as he picked me up. My car was in the back of the parking lot. They had stolen it, and brought it back.”

“true, but you'd think that in your own driveway, in a nice subdivision for just a few seconds wouldn't be that bad”
thriftyhiker
9:15:20 AM
2/27/06

You lock your doors?

"subdivisions" are targeted just for peoples false sense of security.

You get ticketed in Metro DC for leaving a running vehicle unattended.”

“Every winter it's the same story. People leave their car to warm up and go inside and it gets stolen.

Unfortunately, a few days ago, the man came out of his apt to get back in his warmed up car that he left running as it was being stolen. The person stealing his car ran him over and dragged him 100 ft in the parking lot. He died.

You can't put a price on life, but this was a 1992 Honda Accord, so the person stealing the vehicle would only get a very small amount of money for this approx. $2,000 car (for parts). It's just sick.

The guy who's car was being stolen may have had no theft on it and it may have been his only way to work and could not afford to buy another car, but also, it's kind of human nature to pursue someone who is stealing your stuff. Yes, he should have not left it running, but I think we all deserve to leave something somewhere with our back turned on it and not find someone is stealing it when we are not looking, but I guess that's life????

A month before that, a woman getting gas leaves her car running to go inside the gas stations store and someone takes off with her car and baby inside. He, fortunately for her, got out of the vehicle, probably when he realized there was kid in it and left the car with the kid in it.

On a good note, they did eventually capture the 20 year old that stole the car from the man he killed. No further info was detailed about the guy who stole the car. When these things happen, everyone always figures it was a "meth head".
last edited: 2/28/06 1:05:04 AM”

“Yep those Chevettes were indestructable....only thing was their front disc brakes were so small....we wore them out every three months or so.

LH, that happened in Montreal this winter also...a man left his car running while he rushed inside to pay for his gas....someone took off with his Honda CRV with his baby inside. Luckily the car thief abandoned the car in a shopping center parking lot....he parked it so people can see the baby inside.”