Granite City man sentenced for stealing car with two children, dog inside
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A Granite City man was sentenced to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing a car with two young girls inside.
George Garcia-Flores, 22, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular hijacking, a Class X felony, in Madison County Circuit Court, according to a release from State’s Attorney Tom Haine’s office Wednesday.
The incident occurred July 17 outside a Granite City retail business. Prosecutors said the owner of an Infiniti G35 coupe had stepped away from the car, leaving a 9-year-old girl and a 1-year-old girl, both family members, inside.
According to witnesses, Garcia-Flores got behind the wheel and began to drive off. Prosecutors said he told the girls to get out before fleeing, and a bystander assisted the younger child in exiting the car, the release stated.
Granite City police apprehended Garcia-Flores shortly after the incident, authorities said.
“This perpetrator is a clear threat to public safety,” Haine said in a statement. “We’re thankful that law enforcement officers apprehended him and gathered the evidence our prosecution team needed to secure this conviction and 18-year sentence.”
Multiple law enforcement agencies assisted in the investigation and apprehension, including the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, Pontoon Beach Police, Fairmont City Police, Collinsville Police and the Metro-East Auto Theft Task Force.
Assistant State’s Attorney Lauren Maricle, chief of the Violent Crime Unit, prosecuted the case.
The vehicle was later recovered in St. Louis. The family’s dog, a rat terrier, was inside during the carjacking and was later found wandering in Granite City after being reported missing on a community Facebook page.
Garcia-Flores also pleaded guilty in two unrelated cases, according to the release. He admitted to stealing a pickup truck in Glen Carbon on July 16, and to aggravated fleeing in Collinsville on July 15. He was sentenced to five years for the vehicle theft and three years for aggravated fleeing. Those sentences will run concurrently with the 18-year term.