Carjacker waits for man to unload daughter, groceries

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - A man living in St. Pete was carjacked while trying to get his 3-year-old daughter out of the back seat. Surveillance video captured the terrifying moment. 

Greg Ellis says he had just pulled in behind his house on 6th Ave North in St. Pete Saturday afternoon.
“What was going through my head was just getting my daughter away from there as quickly as I could," Ellis told FOX 13. 

He says his car was packed with groceries, and as he turned around the suspect held a gun and demanded his keys. 

"I was probably a little bit snarky,” Ellis said. “I [asked him if] I could at least get my groceries and he nodded.”

St. Pete police say it's a good thing Ellis and his wife Jenni didn't fight back. 

“It’s never worth it,” said Sandra Bentil, a spokeswoman with the St. Petersburg Police Department. 

On Monday, detectives say they were able to find the car, abandoned in Largo.  Investigators say a random person, though not the suspect, was sleeping inside. 

"Right now, the car is being processed for fingerprints and any clues that will lead us to the individual who took it,” Bentil said. 

Ellis and his wife said they are happy the car wasn’t damaged and could be located, but more importantly – that their family wasn’t harmed. 

“We hope [the suspect] goes to prison for a very long time. He held a gun out in front of a 3-year-old,” the couple added. 

Detectives are hoping anyone who identifies the suspect in the video will come forward.