Carjacking

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A Martinsburg man is accused of getting into another man's car, beating him and stealing the man's wallet, compact discs, sunglasses and other items, according to court records. Matthew Shane Johnson, 24, of 181 Van Clevesville Road, was charged with kidnapping, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. He also was charged with malicious wounding and burglary, stemming from an unrelated incident. The carjacking happened June 18 after the victim, Derek Beasley, was asked to give a woman he knew a ride to Gantt's Mobile Home Community off W.Va.

shappell@herald-mail.com A Hagerstown man who was sentenced to 23 years in prison two weeks ago is trying to withdraw his guilty plea in connection with an October 2004 crash and carjacking. Liley Lee Gordon, through his new attorney Elisha R. Elliott, filed a motion Friday to withdraw a plea of guilty that was entered Feb. 17 before Washington County Circuit Judge Donald E. Beachley. According to the motion, which was entered into the court's computer database Tuesday, Gordon believes he was not given a "full explanation to the consequences" of a guilty plea by his attorney, Stephen Musselman.

marlob@herald-mail.com Liley Lee Gordon on Tuesday was handed a 23-year prison sentence for an October 2004 accident and carjacking in Hagerstown. "This was a series of out-of-control events by an incorrigible person," Washington County Circuit Judge Donald Beachley said as he imposed a 20-year sentence for unarmed carjacking on Gordon, 17, who was charged as an adult. Gordon, whose last known address was 458 Park Place, will have to serve 10 years before he is eligible for parole, Beachley said.

pepperb@herald-mail.com A 17-year-old boy who was charged as an adult in an October accident and carjacking pleaded guilty Thursday in Washington County Circuit Court to six charges related to the incident. Liley Lee Gordon, 17, of 458 Park Place, pleaded guilty to unarmed carjacking, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident, driving without a license, resisting arrest, second-degree assault and reckless driving. Washington County Circuit Judge Donald E. Beachley said he wanted to look at Gordon's juvenile record before sentencing him. Carjacking, the most serious of the offenses, carries a maximum 30-year sentence.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - Police have released a photograph of the man who robbed another man at gunpoint Wednesday and drove the man to a bank, where he used the victim's ATM card to withdraw money, Martinsburg Police Department Detective Sgt. George Swartwood said. The photograph was taken by a surveillance camera on the bank's ATM, Swartwood said. He would not say exactly how much money was withdrawn from the machine, but described it as a "minimal" amount.

gregs@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A man was robbed at gunpoint in Martinsburg Wednesday afternoon and taken to a bank where he was forced to withdraw money before being forced out of his car by the robber, Martinsburg City Police said. Police said the robber was described as a black man who is 5 feet 5 inches or 5 feet 6 inches tall, has a slender build, and was wearing a blue parka or sweatshirt and dark jeans, according to a news release. The man also was wearing a blue ski cap, dark boots, and police believe he was about 35 years old, police said.

shappell@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - A Hagerstown juvenile is charged as an adult in connection with a Saturday carjacking that followed a crash that left several teens injured, the Hagerstown Police Department said. Among the most seriously injured is a North Hagerstown High School graduate who won a state championship a few months ago. Officers and emergency responders went to the 1100 block of Outer Drive amid reports of an overturned pickup truck just before 10 p.m., according to the Hagerstown Police Department.

The Hagerstown Police Department was investigating a possible carjacking shortly after a pickup truck crashed in the city's North End and injured seven occupants of the truck Saturday night. Seven people, who had been riding in a red Chevrolet pickup truck, were taken to Washington County Hospital, including some with potentially serious injuries, Lt. Rick Reynolds said. Police believe that shortly after the truck crashed, someone carjacked a black 2003 Honda Element SUV with Maryland registration 054M483, Reynolds said.

Man wanted in local carjacking surrenders A man wanted in connection with a carjacking in September turned himself in at a Poughkeepsie, N.Y., public defenders office, Hagerstown Police Department Lt. Richard Johnson said in a news release. Monroe Anthony Myers was being held in the New York jurisdiction and arrangements for his return to Maryland are being made, police said. On Sept. 5, 2003, police were called to a parking lot east of 124 East Ave., in Hagerstown, where a man said he had been ordered at gunpoint to hand over his money, his cell phone and the keys to his brother's car, which was parked in the lot. The victim said two men were involved in the robbery at that time, police said.

A man held a gun to woman's head during an apparent carjacking Sunday evening, Hagerstown Police Department Sgt. Timothy Wolford said. Wolford said the woman, a Hagerstown resident, said a man approached her at 10:02 p.m. and placed a silver handgun to her head while she was getting into her 1993 Chevrolet Tahoe or Blazer parked outside of 747 S. Potomac St. Wolford said the woman complied with the assailant's orders to get out of the vehicle...