Carjacker Who Threatened Drivers With Syringe In Lower Bucks Sentenced

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —A 41-year-old man who threatened to inject drivers with a syringe if they didn't hand over their vehicles will face a state prison sentence of up to 25 years, authorities said.

Kevin O’Connell, with no known address, was sentenced on Monday to serve up to 25 years in state prison for committing two burglaries and two carjackings in Bucks County, including one that left an elderly woman hospitalized.

In each of the carjackings, O’Connell threatened to inject the victims with a syringe, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said.

On Monday, he appeared before Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey L. Finley and entered a plea of no contest to two counts each of robbery of a motor vehicle, robbery, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, and terroristic threats, three counts of simple assault and one count each of aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person.

O’Connell was also sentenced on Monday for committing two burglaries in 2022, in Tullytown Borough and Bristol Township. DNA evidence aided police in identifying O’Connell as the person who committed each of these crimes.

During sentencing, Finley told O’Connell that he stole the victim’s sense of security and put them in fear of living their daily lives.

“You didn’t just steal their possessions, in some way, you stole their lives,” he said.

In addition to the state prison sentence, O’Connell was ordered to have no contact with the victims, undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation, and pay restitution to the victims of more than $30,000.

O’Connell was arrested in Philadelphia after he committed a carjacking on the morning of Aug. 19, 2022, at 200 Commerce Circle in Bristol Borough.

On that day, police were dispatched to the location and witnesses told them a man had robbed an elderly woman of her 2007 Toyota Camry.

The victim was inside a medical clinic slumped down in a chair and bleeding from her arm and leg. She was taken by ambulance to the hospital to be treated.

At the hospital, the victim told police she was walking back to her car following an appointment at the medical clinic when a male came up to her window and asked for a dollar to get a drink.

When the woman refused, O’Connell threatened to inject her with a syringe, grabbed her keys, and drove off in her car, knocking her to the ground. After he was arrested, the victim identified Kevin O'Connell as the man who robbed her, authorities said.

As the investigation continued, police linked O’Connell to a March 16, 2022, carjacking at the McDonald’s at 7700 Bristol Pike in Bristol Township.

In that carjacking, O’Connell also threatened the victim with a syringe before driving away in her vehicle.

The car was recovered, and Bristol Township Police took multiple DNA swabs, which returned with a match for O’Connell.

In addition to the carjackings, O’Connell pleaded guilty on Monday to burglary and related offenses for committing a May 27, 2022, burglary in Tullytown Borough.

In that burglary, he entered the garage of a home on Stonybrook Drive in the early hours of the morning and stole $5,000 in tools and household items.

He pleaded guilty in April to committing a March 27, 2022, burglary in the Croydon section of Bristol Township.

In that burglary, he entered a home on Newport Road, stole $20,000 from a safe, and took other electronic devices.