UPDATE (June 11, 2019)– Police say a 14-year-old and two 15-year-old suspects were arrested in connection with this incident. The stolen car was also located.
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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — A 71-year-old cancer survivor lived through another near death experience Monday morning.
Raymond Priest told police he was ambushed by an armed carjacker outside his home on Indy’s near southeast side.
“I turned around and looked and 2 or 3 feet from me he had a 9 stuck in my face,” said Raymond Priest.
The 71-year-old remembers putting his hands up while staring down the barrel of the gun.
“He racked one round in the chamber and that’s a cold feeling when you hear that,” said Priest.
With the keys already in the ignition, the gunman and an accomplice jumped in Raymond’s car and peeled off down the street.
According to the police report, four other suspects then took off running and laughing at the crime.
“I’m a heart patient. I’m on blood thinners. If they shot me, I would have bled out before anyone got here,” said Priest.
Police say the thieves stole Raymond’s 2006 white Lincoln. During the robbery, the 71-year-old cancer survivor with a heart condition admits he only had one thought.
“Just give them the keys. The car can be replaced. Give them what they want. Your life ain’t worth it,” said Priest.
The leasing office across the street does have video cameras that may show the robbery. An employee wouldn’t release the video to us, but did plan to provide it to police.
“Like a Timex watch, I take a licking, but I keep on ticking,” said Priest.
For his part, Raymond offered some advice to the thieves before they steal from anyone else.
“I’d say get a job. Grow up. Be a man, not a child,” said Priest. “Quit preying on the elderly or anybody, because it’s not going to pay off.”
Several hours after the carjacking, Raymond says police were able to recover his stolen car, but anyone with information on the suspects can still contact Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS.
