By Thomas Tracy
Two men were arrested following a harrowing carjacking in Mill Basin in which two young children were kicked out of their father’s car while it was being stolen. Officials allege that John Marcus, 19, of the 400 block of East 94th Street in Canarsie and Norvel Joel Baker, 19, of the 800 block of Troy Avenue in East Flatbush, were taken into custody late Sunday night following the carjacking, which took place in the shopping center parking lot in front of the Duane Reade at 2265 Ralph Avenue at the corner of Avenue M. Cops from the 63rd Precinct said that the owner of the 2000 Lexus ran into the pharmacy at about 10:15 p.m. on January 22 to complete a quick errand. He reportedly left the car unlocked with the engine running while his children sat inside. Once the victim went into the Duane Reade, Marcus and Baker ran up to the vehicle. Police said that one of the suspects got behind the wheel, while the other pulled the 12-year-old from the car, leaving the terrified eight-year-old in the back seat. That child was later kicked out of the car, left abandoned at the corner of Ralph Avenue and East 65th Street, officials said. Luckily, neither child suffered any injuries. A short while later, members of the Brooklyn South Auto Larceny Squad spotted the stolen car passing the corner of East 56th Street and Kings Highway, police from the 63rd Precinct said. The car was pulled over and Baker and Marcus were taken into custody without incident. Prosecutors from the Kings County District Attorney’s office arraigned both men on robbery, menacing and harassment charges, as well as the unauthorized operation of a motor vehicle. Although one of the two suspects was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, it was unclear as of press time if any weapons were used as Baker and Marcus took the car. Each faced a $10,000 bail, said prosecutors, who added that grand jury deliberations against the two men have already begun. Cops said that robberies of this nature were rare around that shopping center. Thefts of cars found unlocked, idling and unoccupied, however, are not that uncommon in the 63rd Precinct, said Deputy Inspector Kevin McGinn, the precinct’s commanding officer. “We have had a rash of them,” McGinn explained, adding that in cases like this one, common sense prevails. “People shouldn’t leave their cars running with the keys inside,” he said. “It becomes an easy target for someone that wants to steal the car and take it for a ride.” Leaving one’s child in a running automobile with the keys inside is also a matter where common sense should prevail. “A parent’s number one concern should be to his or her children,” he said. “They should not leave them in that kind of risky situation.”
