Man charged with attempted carjacking minutes after release from jail

BROWNSVILLE, Tenn. — A normal afternoon turned into a terrifying ordeal Tuesday for a mother in Brownsville as police say a man tried to steal her car with her children inside. But fortunately, they say he ran away when he realized the children were there.

“She was getting the mail out of the mailbox, and she noticed a white male across the street running to her car,” Assistant Brownsville Police Chief Kelvin Evans said. “He immediately jumped in the car and said ‘I’m sorry.'”

Police say the man was 41-year-old Bryan Short.

Assistant Chief Evans says it happened Tuesday afternoon by the mailboxes of a mobile home community on East Main Street.

When he got inside the car, he noticed there were three kids in the back seat.

“Once he noticed there were kids in the back of the vehicle, he got out of the car and fled on foot,” Evans said.

Short has a history with trouble.

“This incident occurred within 15 minutes of him being released and bonding out of county jail,” Evans said. “He was in for a misdemeanor charge. The Tennessee Highway Patrol brought him in. He was from Bowling Green [Ohio]. I think he was trying to get a ride back home.”

Police say they sent out an alert to residents in Brownsville, and EMT workers spotted the suspect around 8 p.m. Tuesday.

“When officers arrived, they found him hiding in a rail car by the old MTD manufacturing incorporation,” Evans said.

He says this serves as a message to always lock your doors.

“Leaving cars running, leaving kids in the car, all of these things are a big no-no,” Evans said. “Talk about crime of opportunity — leaving it running and someone will take that opportunity.”

Police say the kids were not injured.

Short is charged with attempted carjacking.