Carjacker who shot mom in the face, threw 1-year-old out of vehicle and into the snow before driving off will spend many winters behind bars

Inset: Ronald Loftis (Ohio Department of Corrections). Background: The home where Loftis carjacked a woman and threw a toddler in the snow (WKYC).

A carjacking suspect who shot a woman in the face while trying to steal her vehicle as her 1-year-old son sat inside before he threw the boy out of the car and into the snow will spend decades behind bars, authorities in Ohio say.

Ronald Loftis, 47, was sentenced on Tuesday to 51 years to 56 1/2 years in prison. He pleaded guilty last month to three counts of aggravated robbery and felonious assault, among other charges, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O'Malley said.

"Ronald Loftis is a violent predator who terrorized women and children on Cleveland's Near West Side," O'Malley said in a statement.

The incident occurred around 7:30 a.m. Jan. 2 in the 7900 block of Madison Avenue in Cleveland, police said. Loftis walked up to the victim, pointed a gun in her face and demanded money. When the victim said she didn't have any cash, Loftis grabbed for her keys and they began wrestling. During the struggle, the gun went off, striking her in the face.

"This brazen and reckless act placed not only the victim's life at risk, but also endangered a child who was present during the incident," cops wrote.

Loftis grabbed the boy and threw him out of the car and into the snow before driving away. Cops recovered the stolen car not long after the robbery.

Officers arrested Loftis at a home on the city's east side.

"This was a senseless and violent crime carried out with complete disregard for human life," Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy A. Todd said in a statement after the arrest. "Because of the decisive and relentless work of our officers and detectives, this dangerous individual is now off our streets. Our thoughts are with the victim as she recovers from this traumatic event. We are grateful that she is in stable condition and that the child who was with her was not physically harmed."

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Loftis also assaulted another woman about 30 minutes before the carjacking.

In that case, a woman was waiting for a bus when Loftis walked up to her and said "Sorry to do this to you." He proceeded to pull out a gun and fire a shot into the ground before pistol-whipping her and robbing her of her cellphone. The attack was captured on street cameras. He later returned the phone.