‘I thought I was a goner’: Victim describes armed carjacking attempt by masked teens

INDIANAPOLIS – A frightening encounter with a group of armed, masked teenagers left a near southwest side man afraid for his life. IMPD says it’s yet another example of “unacceptable” youth violence in Indianapolis, as four young suspects now face charges for the attempted armed carjacking.

“A few shook up days here and there just thinking about it, what could’ve happened,” said Jerry Fraley.

The possible outcomes were grim.

“You have a gun to your chest, you got guys with bandanas up to their eyes – I thought I was a goner,” Fraley said. “I really did.”

Fraley was under the hood of his truck around 9:45 Tuesday morning when he was swarmed by four masked thieves demanding his keys.

“I started backing up going to the porch and the other guy there had a big ball bat and he’s hollering at me to give him my phone. I said, ‘I’m not giving you my phone,'” Fraley recalled. “I thought they were going to shoot me; that’s what I thought. I thought that guy was going to chase me down with the ball bat.”

He did end up handing over the keys. But what Fraley knew was that the crooks were about to find out his truck had quit running the night before. That’s why he was under the hood when they approached.

So, he watched from his house and called 911 as they hopped in, tried to start the truck, then jumped back out and ran down the street.

IMPD officials say a combination of city camera visuals provided by the Real Time Crime Center and neighborhood witnesses helped end their search, which began on West Morris Street near Belmont Avenue, a few blocks away from the scene, where an officer spotted four people matching the suspect descriptions before they took off running again.

Court documents say the suspects dashed through yards, jumped fences and resisted arrest. Detectives found a gun, a live round, masks and a metal baseball bat.

Turns out, all are teenagers. Only one is 18 years old – Jack Carcamo. According to the police report, the other three suspects are 14, 15 and 16 years old. All were arrested on the same day.

“Teenagers have no respect these days,” Fraley said. “Some do, I’m not going to say all of them don’t, but the majority don’t. Society has just gotten totally out of hand.”

Documents say the suspects were also linked to a car with a broken window reported stolen out of Wisconsin.

“This behavior is unacceptable, no matter what age,” said IMPD Officer Drew Brown. “Whether you’re an adult, a juvenile – threatening somebody’s life and putting them in fear for their life over a material object is downright unacceptable.”

With a busy holiday weekend ahead, IMPD says it’s extra important for parents to step up and know where their kids are at all times.

“We need the community’s help as well to understand that violence and any sort of disruption to what should be a celebratory weekend isn’t going to be tolerated,” Brown said.