Gunman who carjacked, kidnapped woman is arrested after chase and crash, cops say

The gunman who carjacked and kidnapped a woman on Tuesday was arrested after a chase that ended with him crashing the car, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.

Sarasota police officers saw the stolen vehicle near 42nd Street and Tamiami Trail. When they tried to make a traffic stop, the suspect, identified as George Sparrow, 52, led police on a chase until crashing into another vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office.

Both the suspect and the other person involved in the crash were taken to area hospitals.

“Both drivers are believed to be OK,”a sheriff’s office news release states.

“Sheriff’s office detectives have positively identified the driver of the stolen vehicle who was transported to the hospital as the suspect involved in Tuesday night’s carjacking, however, the investigation is ongoing,” the release states.

On Aug. 3, at about 6:45 p.m., deputies say Sparrow was at the Parkway Collections shopping center at Lockwood Ridge Road and University Parkway when he approached a woman who was entering her 2006 Cadillac CTS and forced her to drive him away.

The suspect eventually let the woman go but kept the car.

According to the press release, the sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate the carjacking while the police department investigates the crash.

Sparrow was booked into the Sarasota County jail on charges of armed carjacking and kidnapping.

This story was originally published September 5, 2019 at 7:46 AM.