Woman returning to her parked car finds stranger sitting in driver's seat before he drags her down street: Cops

A woman suffered serious injuries when she returned to her car to find a 19-year-old man behind the wheel, who then took off, dragging her alongside the car as he went, Maryland cops say.

Daymonte Antonyio Jones, now 23, is facing charges of carjacking, robbery and second-degree assault, court records show.

The Montgomery County Police Department said in a press release that the incident occurred at 7:45 p.m. on July 5, 2022, in the 8700 block of Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring, a Washington, D.C. suburb.

The woman walked back to her car and saw a man sitting in the driver's seat. She fought with the suspect, who drove away with the woman still attached to the car, cops said. He allegedly dragged her along the road before she fell off. She sustained "significant injuries," although cops did not detail the extent of them.

Jones led police on a "brief pursuit" before he crashed the car in Washington, D.C. He ran away and cops lost track of him.

"Through the course of the investigation, detectives identified Jones as the suspect and obtained an arrest warrant charging him with carjacking," cops wrote.

It's unclear how investigators tied Jones to the alleged crime or why it took four years to charge him.

Jones' defense attorney Sean Mukherjee provided Law&Crime with the following statement.

More from Law&Crime: Man shoots 3 women during morning crime spree starting with his girlfriend before carjacking attempts at Hardee's and grocery store: Cops

"No one should rush to judgment. No witness has ever identified Daymonte Jones as being involved in this incident. The only evidence purportedly linking him to it is highly circumstantial and did not emerge until more than three years later," he said. "Police were pursuing and surveilling the vehicle, including by helicopter, and immediately apprehended two individuals after it crashed. Neither individual was Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones is presumed innocent and looks forward to his day in court."

Jones was arrested on Aug. 31 after a warrant was issued two days prior, court records say. He was taken to the Montgomery County Detention Center, where he is being held without bond. His next court date is a preliminary hearing set for Sept. 25.

Cops did not provide an update on the victim's condition.