This is a bad way to start your New Years’ day. Outside of a Carthage, Missouri, adult video store, a man carjacked a GMC pickup. With a sleeping passenger inside. And a goat in the bed. Allegedly on meth. 

The owner of the GMC Sierra had gone inside with the passenger asleep when a man jumped in and took off. The sleeping passenger woke up to find a man with a mask and a gun pointed at his head. Eventually, a chase ensued that ran through Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Carthage is located near Joplin, Missouri, in the lower western corner of the state.

The passenger was pistol-whipped with a gun to his head

The carjacker was Brandon Wayne Kirby of Mannford, Oklahoma. According to the passenger, while speaking to the police, Kirby was holding a gun to the passenger’s head as they fled the adult book store while occasionally pistol-whipping him and also threatening to kill him.

Supposedly, Kirby also ingested the meth around this time. At some point Kirby stopped to let the passenger and also the goat out before driving away. The passenger then called 911 and a police chase ensued. 

While chasing the GMC truck police called OnStar to see if the truck was part of that system. When it was determined that it was OnStar was able to slow it down to 15 mph. The now slow-speed chase continued before police in Sand Springs, Missouri, were able to use spike strips across the highway to flatten the truck’s tires. 

The thief was charged with kidnapping, pointing a firearm,

When that didn’t stop the Sierra police were able to bump the truck into a ditch next to the highway. That ended the chase, but Kirby exited the truck fleeing into the adjacent woods. Eventually, he was apprehended before being charged with kidnapping, pointing a firearm and also being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Kirby is also wanted in Oklahoma for burglary, with multiple felony convictions for assault, burglary, and possession of a stolen vehicle. So, this wasn’t his first rodeo for theft and assault. Luckily the passenger and goat were returned back to the Creek County Sheriff’s Office without injury. 

There are some crazy confluences

There are some crazy confluences that made this particular vehicle theft almost guaranteed. First, one of the top three car theft capitals of the US is St. Joseph, Missouri. That is less than 200 miles north of Carthage, Missouri, up the I-49 corridor. So its proximity to one of the most notorious areas for vehicle theft is more than a coincidence.

Some other cities where auto theft is high are Albuquerque; Anchorage, Alaska; and around the central valley of California. The stats suggest that thieves prefer more rural areas that are less congested than big cities. Also, cities adjacent to large highways are preferred because thieves can quickly leave the scene of the theft before anything is reported. Interstate 49 runs through both St. Joseph and Carthage. 

The other thing is that the Highway Loss Data Institute lists the GMC Sierra as one of the most stolen vehicles based on “whole vehicle claims.”