Medford, Ore. — A Medford man who a judge released from jail Thursday for a work program allegedly carjacked a woman at gunpoint in downtown Medford. Police said before he was caught, he crashed the car, broke into a nearby home and grabbed a beer on his way out the door.
It was a bizarre sight in Medford on Thursday as a car drove through Stewart Meadows Golf Course and crashed into a fence near Jefferson Elementary and Fichtner Mainwaring Park in South Medford.
“We were just coming here to shoot some hoops and then we saw the cops standing out with their assault rifles,” said Trevor Stellphlue, who saw the situation unfold.
It all started at this U.S. Bank in downtown Medford on South Central when police said 29-year old Steven Fennell carjacked a woman and took off with her still inside the car. She was seated in the backseat waiting for a friend.
Medford Police said Fennell then drove through the Winco parking lot where the woman was able to escape when the car slowed down. She was not injured.
After that, Fennel drove through the golf course before crashing the car. Police said they arrived on scene to find the crashed car unoccupied.
Then with kids and families watching from the park, Fennell took off, with a gun police say, and ran in front of the elementary school into a neighborhood.
The school was put on lock down for about a half hour.
“It is pretty scary. I was kind of worried to be standing around because all the rifles out,” said Stellphlue.
Police finally caught up with Fennell right across from the school and arrested him without a struggle, just feet from the playground. But before he was cuffed, police said Fennell entered a home in the 1400 block of S. Ivy Street through an unsecured window, changed clothing and took a beer before he took off when the resident came back home.
“We are very lucky that we didn’t have any injuries. Just with the vehicle driving recklessly through the Winco parking lot, then tearing through the golf course, then we have an armed suspect running basically through a crowded park and elementary school. This thing was completely out of control and we’re lucky it’s not worse,” said Lieutenant Mike Budreau with the Medford Police Department.
According to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, a judge released Fennell from the jail Thursday morning for a work program.
MPD said Fennell is a frequent flyer in the jail. He was originally arrested for shoplifting at Food-4-Less.
He is in the Jackson County Jail on charges of 2nd degree kidnapping, 2nd degree burglary, 2nd degree robbery, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and 1st degree criminal mischief. His bail is set at $2,015,000.
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