Attempted Carjacking Of Cop Lands Homeless Man In Jail: Police

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — A man who attempted to carjack an on-duty Montgomery County police officer who was sitting inside a marked police cruiser was released from jail on a $0 bond.

7News obtained court records that show on Friday shortly after 8 a.m., five police officers walked out of the Starbucks at 19724 Germantown Road and headed to their individual squad cars. That's when they spied a person who had been linked to recent suspicious activity involving parked patrol cars at the 5th District Station on Aircraft Drive in Germantown.

When one police officer got into his squad car and started it, 42-year-old Dlaunte Wade opened the car door. According to court documents, the officer told Wade to stop and get out of the vehicle. Officers detained Wade who said he was homeless and admitted to planning on carjacking the armed, on-duty officer.

According to 7News, Wade had been charged with carjacking, which carries up to 30 years in prison, but he was released from the Montgomery County Detention Center in Rockville. Court paperwork showed Wade is divorced and the father of eight children. He now faces up to 36 years in prison on criminal charges of carjacking, plus rogue and vagabond.