DETROIT – A man was arrested for carjacking a woman at gunpoint because a former high school classmate recognized him through his mask at a Detroit dollar store before he committed the crime, authorities said.
Kyrrah Cornell Radaker-Carter, 30, is accused of targeting a woman who was at the Dollar General store on Grand River Avenue in Detroit around 8:15 p.m. April 23.
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Carjacking at gunpoint
Police said the woman noticed Radaker-Carter and another man near her as she checked out at the dollar store. They were wearing masks, but she could see through Radaker-Carter’s mask because it was made of a sheer material, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday (May 18).
The woman said Radaker-Carter was close to her and she looked directly at his face. She said he had a beard.
Surveillance video from the dollar store showed the two men followed the woman out of the store and ran through the parking lot to confront her, according to authorities.
While the woman had her back to the store, she heard one of the men tell her to “give me the keys,” officials said. He also said, “Give me the fanny pack,” according to court records.
The woman was wearing a fanny pack containing her wallet, about $450, and identification and bank cards, police said. She loosened the waist strap and removed it, the criminal complaint says.
The men approached and pointed guns at the woman, she said.
Officials said the man with Radaker-Carter snatched the fanny pack from the woman. He retrieved her keys after she dropped them on the ground, and then he got in the driver’s seat of her car, according to authorities.
Radaker-Carter went around to the other side of the car and got into the passenger seat, officials said.
They fled west on Grand River Avenue, the complaint says.
Radaker-Carter identified
On April 24, an officer working with the Detroit Police Commercial Auto Theft Section received information from someone who had been at the dollar store at the same time as Radaker-Carter and the carjacking victim, authorities said.
That person called police said recalled talking to Radaker-Carter shortly before leaving the store. The tipster said Radaker-Carter was their former high school classmate and identified him by name, according to officials.
A search of the Michigan Department of Corrections database showed officers this image of Radaker-Carter:
Radaker-Carter arrested
Around 11:15 p.m. April 27, two Detroit police officers said they saw an unoccupied white Nissan Altima parked at the McDonald’s on Plymouth Road. One of the officers approached the car and confirmed it to be the Altima stolen from the woman at the dollar store.
The officers watched from a distance until the car started backing out of the parking lot. Police said they tried to block the car in while their emergency lights were activated, but it fled at a high speed on Greenfield Road.
As the Altima tried to turn onto Warren Road, it struck a utility pole, and the driver was taken into custody, police said. He was identified as Radaker-Carter, court records show. Radaker-Carter was the only occupant of the Altima.
Officers said they found a silver and black Smith & Wesson .40-caliber pistol and various narcotics on Radaker-Carter. The pistol had a round in the chamber and multiple rounds in the magazine, according to the criminal complaint.
Radaker-Carter was hurt in the crash, but he refused medical treatment, police said.
On April 26, a photo of Radaker-Carter was placed among five other photos of men with similar appearances, and the carjacking victim identified him as the person who stole her car, according to authorities.
Radaker-Carter had previously pleaded guilty to assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and felony firearm on Aug. 25, 2015, at Michigan’s Third Circuit Court, records show. He was sentenced to 4-10 years in prison for the assault and two years in prison for the felony firearm violation.
Radaker-Carter was paroled from prison in March 2022.
Charges
The criminal complaint concludes that there is probable cause to charge Radaker-Carter with carjacking, brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, and felon in possession of a firearm.