Man pleads to stealing car with 3 young kids inside

AKRON , Ohio (WJW) — A man charged with kidnapping after stealing a vehicle from a fast food drive-thru while three young children were inside has pleaded guilty.

Mark E. Carlson, 45, of Cuyahoga Falls , was indicted in August 2023 on nearly two dozen felony counts including abduction, grand theft of a motor vehicle and robbery, among others.

On Friday, April 12, he pleaded guilty to three first-degree felony counts of kidnapping, four second-degree felony counts of robbery, one second-degree felony count of felonious assault and one third-degree felony count of failure to comply with a police order, according to information from the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office.

It happened on Aug. 3 in Akron. Carlson earlier had carjacked another vehicle in Akron, which ultimately ran out of gas in Green . He then forced his way into a woman’s vehicle while it was in a Taco Bell drive-thru.

He crashed that car into the building, then let a 6-year-old and 5-year-old out of the car, but continued on with a 2-year-old still inside, according to authorities. He later let the 2-year-old out of the car at a convenience store along Massillon Road before getting on Interstate 77 .

Summit County sheriff’s deputies chased the car back to Akron, near the intersection of Shelby and Evers avenues, where Carlson got out and fled on foot. He was caught after a foot chase.

His sentencing date has not yet been set.

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