Quick thinking led to carjacking arrest

A Penn Police officer hit the highway Monday night in pursuit of a suspect. A University Police officer's instincts led to the arrest of the man suspected of carjacking Nursing senior Heidi Leister Monday night. The carjacking occurred on the 3900 block of Baltimore Avenue at 8:50 p.m. Monday. West Philadelphia resident Jeff Dennis was arrested seven minutes later. The Philadelphia District Attorney's office charged the 43-year-old last night with robbery, theft of a vehicle, simple assault, reckless endangerment of another person and several other counts, University Investigator John Peterson said. After hearing about the robbery over his radio, University Police officer Ray Rodman drove east on Baltimore Avenue and onto the Schuylkill Expressway, following the path he guessed the thief would take, Chief of Police Operations Maureen Rush said. When police described the suspect and stolen car moments later, Rodman was driving behind the man he later arrested. Rodman and several other University Police officers arrested Dennis near the 28th Street exit on the Expressway at 8:57 p.m. Dennis apparently did not know how to operate a stick shift vehicle, ruining the stolen car's clutch and hindering his escape. In Pennsylvania, a carjacking conviction carries a minimum jail sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of 20 years. Under federal law, a conviction for carjacking with a weapon carries a minimum sentence of 15 years, a spokesperson in the Philadelphia District Attorney's office said. Police said Dennis used a fake antique rifle to get Leister and another student out of the car. The mandatory federal sentencing only applies to auto theft committed with an actual weapon. Dennis did not cooperate with police who questioned him Monday night at Southwest Detectives, refusing to give his name, Peterson said. A computer program matched the suspect's fingerprints to his identity. Rush said Rodman's "excellent gut instincts" made the arrest appear "effortless." She added that the pursuit shows why University Police need the cars they use to patrol the area. Officer Mike Sylvester and members of a newly-formed special response team also assisted in the chase and arrest of Dennis.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.