MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — A family who fell victim to a violent carjacking and kidnapping in Martin County while on their way from Walt Disney World spoke about the horrifying crime for the first time on Monday.
Detectives said 21-year-old Jaquay Marlon Jean targeted a family of four who had stopped at a Mobil gas station on State Road 714 in Palm City on Sept. 29.
"We were heading home, we stopped. Bad luck," said Jaime Sagona, one of the victims, at a news conference on Monday.
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RELATED: Witnesses describe Martin County carjacking
Surveillance video showed Jean, armed with a gun, struggling with Sagona before taking off with Sagona’s 5-month-old baby and her mother, 66-year-old Joanne Sagona.
During the struggle, Jaime Sagona was knocked to the ground and dragged several feet, suffering minor injuries to her hand and forearm.
"I'm just lucky to be alive, and my family as well," said Joanne Sagona.
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"Bad stuff happens, but we can't forget the good stuff," Jaime Sagona added, thanking first responders, deputies, and hospital staff for everything they did after the emergency, including providing formula and diapers for her baby.
Sheriff William Snyder said Jean committed the crime because he was in need of a vehicle to get to Miami.
"This kind of crime, and the traveling burglars and traveling car thieves, they're not from [Martin County]," said Sheriff Snyder.
Investigators said Jean dropped the baby and his grandmother off about a mile down the road before fleeing south into Miami-Dade County.
Detectives from Martin County, Miami-Dade County, and the U.S. Marshals tracked Jean down in North Miami where he was arrested after leaving a home.
Despite the chaos, Sagona said the heroes who helped her family are the ones who need to be recognized.
"If there are people there to help you, support you, that helps you through the process," said Sagona. "I wouldn't have coped as well if it wasn't for the moment I knew that there were people there that were going to be there for us."
Jean is being held in the Martin County Jail on charges of carjacking with a deadly weapon, robbery with a deadly weapon, and kidnapping.
Woman behind wheel of car taken at gunpoint says she is thankful she gets to hold her baby and watch him crawl. More today starting at 5. @WPTV pic.twitter.com/8HbyyD7QCT
— Jon Shainman (@JonShainman) October 14, 2019
