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Phillip Harper of Detroit was was sentenced to 92 years in prison for a carjacking spree.(Photo: Detroit Police Department)
DETROIT — A death sentence.
That's essentially what 25-year-old Phillip Harper of Detroit got when he was was sentenced to 92 years in prison in October for ambushing luxury car owners at gunpoint in a months-long carjacking spree — and no one was hurt.
This is what it's come to in crime-ridden Detroit, a carjack hot spot where violent armed car thieves strike day and night in every corner of the city. Law enforcement agencies have struggled for years to get carjacking under control, calling it a pervasive problem that has struck fear in the heart of the community — and among people who visit the city or consider moving here.
Carjackings occur at an alarming rate in Detroit. Six years ago, the city had 1,231 carjackings — more than three a day. By last year, that number had dropped significantly to 701, but that was still the highest known number of carjackings for any major city in the country.
Through Nov. 17 this year, Detroit has seen 485 carjackings, more than one a day. That's down 31% from last year, yet still three times more than the 160-some carjackings New York City, with 10 times Detroit's population, saw all of last year.
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Detroit's shrinking population also may have contributed to the decline in carjackings. The city has lost 13% of its residents since 2008, from 797,000 to 688,000 last year.
If there is good news here, it's that the number of carjackings has dropped significantly — almost by half in five years — due in large part to a coordinated effort by police, the FBI and federal prosecutors.
U.S. Attorney BarbaraMcQuade believes longsentences for carjacking are warranted.(Photo: Paul Sancya, AP)
In 2009, the Detroit Police Department centralized all carjacking investigations and developed a suspect profiling system after recognizing an increasing trend in carjackings. The federal government also intervened by targeting serial carjackers in federal court, where they are receiving stiffer sentences and getting their faces plastered on billboards.
Owners of gas stations — the second biggest target for carjackers in Detroit — are helping, too, by participating in a police-led program that requires them to have surveillance equipment and good lighting.
Better, yes. But acceptable? Absolutely not, said U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, a Detroit native who believes decades-long sentences are warranted for some carjackers because of the widespread damage they cause.
Motorists are terrorized. Residents are fearful. And visitors won't come here, buy homes here or invest here — all crucial problems for the city as it emerges from bankruptcy.
"To improve the quality of life in Detroit, we need all of the residents to feel safe here. We want people to come do business in Detroit. We want visitors to come to Detroit. And if people are fearful of carjackers, then that's not going to happen," McQuade said.
Detroit's 2014 victims include a mother who was taking her toddler child to a birthday party in broad daylight. Both escaped unharmed. A CVS security guard was shot dead while trying to protect a woman and her child. A 37-year-old man was killed in front of his wife at a fast-food drive-through.
“We need to send a message. We're not going to tolerate carjacking here. ... It's wreaking havoc in our neighborhoods.”
U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, a Detroit native
Even Detroit Police Chief James Craig said he was the victim of an attempted carjacking — while he was in his police cruiser — but he sped away.
"We need to send a message," McQuade said. "We're not going to tolerate carjacking here. ... It's wreaking havoc in our neighborhoods."
At 32, Brittany Guerriero of Allen Park decided to move to downtown Detroit. She loved the city and wanted to be a part of its growth, so in September she got an apartment near Comerica Park.
Though she currently works for a human resource firm in Southfield, her last job was with the United Way, trying to make Detroit one of the top places to work by 2030. She was thrilled to move to the city.
But it didn't take long to reconsider her decision.
On Sept. 3, while moving into her apartment, she got carjacked in the valet line. It was 9:30 p.m. She was unloading some housewares from her 2007 Ford Fusion when she was ambushed by two men. One stuck a gun on her right side, poking her in the ribs.
"They boxed me in. ... They said, 'Stay calm. Don't look at us,'" Guerriero recalled. "I said, 'I don't have anything.' It seemed like forever."
Brittany Guerriero, 32, of Detroit was carjacked in September as she was moving into her new apartment(Photo: Jessica J. Trevino, Detroit Free Press)
She handed her car keys to a man in a black T-shirt, then slowly walked toward the apartment building.
"I was 10 feet from the door, and he said, 'Stop, or I'll shoot you.' So there's another 30 seconds where I'm thinking he's going to shoot me execution-style. I'm just waiting for it," she recalled.
But the men drove away. She ran upstairs.
For days, she was terrified and contemplated moving.
But she stayed.
"I thought, 'If I go back to the suburbs, I'm letting them win,'" she said. "They can't have Detroit. It's mine. It's ours."
Now Guerriero wants to be a sign of hope for others.
"I don't want people to look at what happened to me ... and say, 'Nope, not going there.' … This is where I belong. This is where I should be."
With the help of surveillance video, Detroit police arrested three suspects in Guerriero's carjacking. She identified the gunman in a lineup and recently testified against him and the getaway driver at a preliminary exam in Wayne County Circuit Court.
The case has not yet gone to trial. Guerriero hopes the suspects get life for terrorizing her and hurting Detroit.
"Detroit is on the upswing," she said. "And it's still very vulnerable. ... We can't let these guys ruin everything we've done in this city."
Six years ago, Detroit had 1,231 carjackings — more than three a day. Through Nov. 17 this year, the city has seen 485 carjackings.(Photo: Jarrad Henderson, Detroit Free Press)
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