She was lucky. Many people taken to secondary crime scenes are raped and often murdered. It is for this reason most competent self defense experts will tell you never to comply with a demand that you leave the vicinity with an assailant. You have a better chance of surviving being shot or stabbed in a public place where you will be discovered than in some deserted area a criminal has picked out as a good place to rob, rape or murder you. All too often they are looking to do all three, and not necessarily in that order.

Keep your car doors locked at all times, and passenger window closed. If you don’t want a gun for self defense there are plenty of pepper sprays out there. Bear spray is a potent form of pepper spray that comes packaged in units with longer ranges than regular sprays. Because it’s made for bears it’s much more effective than self-defense sprays, but also more likely to cause a bad reaction in someone it’s used on. South Carolina is lousy with Taser distributors and those devices are fairly effective. Please check the laws in your locality before making any of these purchases.

Nothing beats a snub nosed revolver, in my humble opinion, for putting an end to a carjacking spree but I understand some of you bleeding hearts out there may not want to kill a man who’s planning on raping you to death so there you go.

Nothing says rock bottom quite like carjacking your own grandmother.  And the Friday night carjacking was just the beginning of the havoc caused in three counties by 20-year-old Brandon Earl Gosnell.

Anderson deputies said they got a call that Gosnell had carjacked his own grandmother. They said he grabbed her by the throat, forced her from her car, robbed her and then drove off toward Spartanburg.

In Spartanburg County, deputies said Gosnell went to a relative’s house near Fingerville Saturday morning. They said he kicked in the door, threw several personal items inside and left.

While he was leaving, two of the men who lived there went outside. Police said Gosnell fired his shotgun at both of them and missed both times.

Deputies said he drove away and then ditched the car and ran off into some woods. They said he found an old red Ford truck in the woods and stole it from a hunter.

Spartanburg County sent out a “be on the lookout” alert, and a few hours later, Anderson County deputies spotted him.

“There was a challenge, there were some shots fired and the suspect was taken into custody and is being treated for apparently non life-threatening injuries,” said Anderson County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Daryl Loftis.

The situation ended in Greenville County, just past the county line.

Gosnell faces charges of assault and battery with intent to kill, burglary, and possession of a stolen vehicle charges in Spartanburg County. He will face charges in Anderson County as well.

Update:

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) has charged Gosnell with seven counts of assault with intent to kill.  Deputies say he pointed a shotgun at them after the chase.  In addition, it is alleged that during his rampage Gosnell fired a shotgun at a group of five firefighters standing in front of the West Pelzer Fire Department.  The ACSO has also charged Gosnell with driving under suspension, failure to stop a motor vehicle when signaled by law enforcement, carjacking, and strong armed robbery.

Police said the suspect swung a pair of scissors at a worker who tried to detain him for shoplifting at a Wal-Mart on 6134 White Horse Road, according to warrants. The suspect then forced a man from his silver 2004 Toyota Camry, a warrant said. Deputies pursued the suspect in a brief car chase before he crashed into a tree on Sumter Street, said Lt. Scott Wilson of the Greenville County Sherriff’s Office.

During the chase, Salter reportedly hit several vehicles. One person had to be hospitalized, deputies said.  WYFF4 spoke to witnesses at the scene:

Witnesses said police eventually used a Taser to subdue Salter.

“When he made the left, he couldn’t make it,” said Gary Stokes. “He skidded on rubber on one tire gone and went under the fence. I went out the back door and jumped the fence to see where he was while they were chasing him.”

Salter is being held at Greenville County Detention Center.  Inmate holds indicate he was wanted in connection with fraud involving Anderson County Bank and a shoplifting and assault in Greer. Charges pending as of 9:30 p.m. Saturday included forgery, two counts of armed robbery, possessing a weapon during a violent crime, shoplifting, trespassing, carjacking, driving under suspension, and failure to stop for a blue light.

Salter is expected back in court on Feb. 26, 2010.

WYFF4 has more:

Deputies said they caught Joseph Pool  II after a police chase on Highway 91. Poole was spotted in a car that police said he stole earlier in the morning from Train Auto Sales on 1127 N. Pleasantburg Drive.

Police said the chase went from North Pleasantburg to Wade Hampton Boulevard.

Joseph Poole is being charged with strong-armed robbery, carjacking, and grand larceny, according to Fox Carolina.  A high profile manhunt for Poole began Thursday after he carjacked and beat a 68-year-old woman in the parking lot of the Cherrydale Shopping Center.  No word on whether Poole will face charges for the assault.

Poole is suspected in a carjacking that took place at Cherrydale Shopping Center this morning.  Investigators believe he struck a 68-year-old woman in the head multiple times before fleeing the scene in her vehicle, a red 1992 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with the  South Carolina license plate AIZ570.

Poole will face charges of strong arm robbery, carjacking, and grand larceny in connection with today’s crime, but he was already a wanted man.  News Channel 7 reports:

Poole has been charged with burglary and grand larceny in connection with an incident at the Travelers Rest Tire and Muffler Shop between November 2-3. On November 4, Bo Nats, a business on Poinsett Highway in Greenville County was broken into and deputies say that Poole was responsible for that incident and have charged him with second-degree burglary and petit larceny.

Investigators with the Sheriff’s Office Auto Theft unit have charged Poole with grand larceny and possession of a stolen vehicle after Poole allegedly stole a vehicle from a family member on two seperate occasions. Poole has also been charged with failure to stop for a blue light and driving under suspension after an incident on Stallings Road on November 13.

During that incident, a Sheriff’s deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Poole, who was operating the vehicle that he had just reportedly stolen from the family on Meece Bridge Road. Poole allegedly disregarded the deputies attempt to pull him over and recklessly fled the area without concern for the safety of others.

Joseph Poole’s behavior has become increasingly aggressive, and area residents are urged to contact the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office (864-467-5300) or Crime Stoppers (23-CRIME) with any information.  Crime Stoppers is offering up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest.

Update, 11/20/09:
[On Friday morning Greenville Police recovered the 1992 red Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme stolen by Joseph Poole during Thursday's carjacking.  The search for Poole is still underway.]

Update 2, 11/20/09:

[Joseph Poole has been arrested near Bob Jones University. Please read our latest update for further details.]

One victim was a 17-year-old boy at Jones Gap State Park.  The other was a man carjacked at gunpoint at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at Aunt Sue’s Restaurant on Highway 11 in Pickens County.

According to a report obtained from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, the man approached a employee of the restaurant and pointed a gun at his head and demanded the man’s car. Authorities say a short time later, the man was spotted by a Greenville County Sheriff’s deputy on Pumpkintown Road and the man led police on a chase that ended on Cherokee Lane and the man fled on foot.

Greenville County Sheriff’s deputies and the Sheriff’s helicopter have been searching the area throughout Sunday. Late Sunday afternoon, the man was spotted off of Pumpkintown Road with what authorities say is a female accomplice and another all out search ensued.

The carjacking duo were apprehended by the Greenville County K-9 unit.

Carjackings are statistically rare, but it is not unusual for serious injury or death to occur during the commission of this crime.  Since it is a crime of opportunity, you can reduce your risk by always being acutely aware of your surroundings.  Golden opportunities for a carjacker include:

Intersections controlled by stop lights or signs.
Garages and parking lots for mass transit, shopping malls, and grocery stores.
Self-serve gas stations and car washes.
ATMs (automated teller machines).
Residential driveways and streets as people get into and out of cars.
Highway exit and entry ramps, or anyplace else that drivers slow down or stop.