A St. Joseph man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection with a January 2017 carjacking in Jefferson City.
Jeremy Johnson, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery, resisting arrest and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle during a Thursday hearing before Cole County Presiding Judge Pat Joyce.
Johnson was given credit for time already served.
Johnson used force to take an automobile from its owner at the Wildwood Crossings Shopping Center on Missouri Boulevard, according to a Jefferson City Police Department probable cause statement.
The victim said he had heard the driver door open and someone get in. The victim was looking at his phone and thought it was his wife getting into the vehicle but looked up and saw Johnson in the driver's seat.
Johnson told the victim to get out of the vehicle, saying, "Do you want to get shot?" That was when the victim tried to grab the keys from the ignition.
Johnson struck the victim on the left side of the face. He then exited the vehicle and was unable to shut the door before Johnson drove away, hitting him with the passenger-side door.
About five minutes later, police spotted the vehicle at the intersection Dix and Main streets, where a chase began. Officers followed Johnson north through a residential area on Boonville Road to Hayselton Drive, circled around to Main Street then headed back to Boonville Road, where he traveled northbound again.
Once Johnson reached the intersection of Boonville Road and Missouri 179, he headed southbound. Officers deployed spike strips, which punctured one tire on the stolen car as it passed Sue Drive.
Johnson traveled a short distance before stopping at Cherry Creek Court, where he was apprehended.
As he was being taken to the police department, Johnson told officers he had stolen the vehicle so he could get home so he wouldn't have to sleep outside. He also said if he was to bond out of jail he would steal another vehicle to get home. He said he was in town for alcohol treatment but decided not to stay and that he is homeless and was trying to return to his family.