Red Sox pitching prospect Brian Johnson was carjacked in Cocoa Beach, Florida early Friday, FloridaToday.com reports. Johnson and his friends (one of whom was the car’s owner) were not harmed, fortunately.
A 31-year-old man was arrested shortly thereafter and charged with carjacking, aggravated assault, persons engaged in a criminal offense having weapons, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and violation of felony probation.
Thomas Carrigan, the car’s owner, described how it happened:Carrigan told police that he was sitting in his vehicle with the door open when a vehicle pulled up behind the car. A man got out and began yelling at one of the passengers before he approaching Carrigan with a handgun.
At one point, Carrigan said the man yelled: “I will kill you, give me you (expletive) keys.”
Carrigan relinquished the keys. After that, attacker fired a bullet into the ground and Carrigan was struck by a fragment in his right leg.
Johnson lives in Cocoa Beach and had been in Florida since September rehabbing his left elbow. The 24-year-old made 18 starts with Triple-A Pawtucket and one in the big leagues but hit the shelf in early August when he was diagnosed with an ulnar nerve issue.