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The District Attorney's Office said Monday that Kevin O’Connell was sentenced to 11 to 25 years in prison. He previously pleaded no contest to multiple counts including robbery of a motor vehicle and terroristic threats, authorities said.
Investigators have said O'Connell stole an elderly woman's 2007 Toyota Camry in Bristol Borough in August 2022.
Prosecutors said the victim was walking back to her car after an appointment when O'Connell asked her for a dollar. When she refused, he threatened to inject her with a syringe, knocked her to the ground, grabbed her keys, and drove off in her car, according to police.
He was arrested later that day in Philadelphia.
Investigators were later able to link him to a similar Bristol carjacking in March. In that incident, authorities said O'Connell threatened another woman with a syringe before driving off in her car.
DNA evidence also linked him to a pair of burglaries, including the theft of $5,000 in tools from a Tullytown garage and $20,000 in cash and electronics from a Croydon home, the DA's Office said.
He later pleaded guilty to both burglaries, according to prosecutors.
“You didn’t just steal their possessions, in some way, you stole their lives,” said Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey L. Finley during sentencing on Monday.
In addition to the prison sentence, O'Connell must undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation and pay restitution to the victims of more than $30,000.
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