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Man Accused Of Carjacking Outside Family Fun Center

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By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 18, 2008

Polk County deputies arrested a man who took a Chevrolet 4x4 from the Family Fun Center in Lakeland on Friday evening after trying to carjack two other people, the sheriff's office said.

Sean A. McLaughlin, 33, of Lakeland, was transported to Lakeland Regional Medical Center to be treated for bite wounds from a police dog sustained during his arrest, the sheriff's office said. He was to be booked into the Polk County Jail on charges of carjacking, burglary and leaving the scene of a crash.

According to deputies, McLaughlin stole a blue 1997 Chevrolet 4x4 outside the Family Fun Center, 4825 S. Florida Ave., Lakeland, after ordering a 9-year-old out of the idling vehicle about 6:32 p.m. Friday.

The child's parent had parked near the front door of the business and left the engine running while dropping off a gift for a party, the sheriff's office said. McLaughlin ordered the child to get out and drove out of the parking lot, hitting several other vehicles in the process, the sheriff's office said.

No one was injured.

While searching for the Chevrolet, the sheriff's office received two calls about a man matching McLaughlin's description who had tried to carjack two other people at nearby businesses.

First, a woman with a child in the parking lot of Sears Essentials, 4717 S. Florida Ave., said a man had surprised her as she got out of her vehicle, the sheriff's office said. She quickly jumped back inside and locked the doors until the man left, deputies said.

Moments later, a woman with two children in the drive-through of a McDonald's at 4721 S. Florida Ave. reported that a man demanded they leave their vehicle, reached inside through the open windows and unlocked two of the doors. The woman refused and pulled ahead to the drive-through window to alert a McDonald's employee, the sheriff's office said.

A sheriff's office helicopter found the stolen Chevrolet abandoned near the intersection of County Line Road and Medulla Road. By approximately 9 p.m., a sheriff's office K-9 team arrested McLaughlin at 3734 Trapnell Road East in Hillsborough County.

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.

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