Cuyahoga Falls man sentenced to up to 19½ years in prison in Green carjacking, kidnapping
Summit County Sheriff Deputy John Lombardi still has daily headaches after Mark Carlson, 45, rammed his police cruiser at 130 mph on Aug. 3 with a stolen vehicle. The collision left Lombardi concussed, cut up and bruised.
But that pain, Lombardi said Thursday morning at Carlson's sentencing, is nothing compared to the terror three children felt when Carlson stole their mother's vehicle with them still inside earlier that day.
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"You chose victims who could not defend themselves," Lombardi told Carlson. "There are three children who you have forever burned the image of your face in their minds."
Carlson was sentenced to 15 to 19½ years in prison for a carjacking spree that saw him fight a driver and kidnap the three children.
Carlson took plea deal in April
Carlson pleaded guilty in April to four counts of robbery, three counts of kidnapping, one count of felonious assault and one count of failing to comply with a police officer, according to court records.
As part of the deal with prosecutors, three counts of abduction, two counts of attempted grand theft of a motor vehicle, two counts of grand theft of a motor vehicle and one count each of endangering children and vandalism were dismissed.
"I'm grateful no one was seriously injured and no one was killed in this case," said Summit County Common Pleas Judge Kathryn Michael, who presided over the case.
Carjacking spree ended in foot chase
The carjacking spree took Carlson from Akron to Green and back again. It was in Green, after he stole his first vehicle and attempted to take another, where he fought with a female driver and drove off with her three children. They were ages 2, 5 and 6 at the time of the incident.
Leaving the scene, he struck a Taco Bell with the vehicle. That's when he let the two eldest children out before fleeing south on Interstate 77. He dropped the third child off at a Circle K on Massillon Road.
Toward the end of the chase, Carlson rammed Lombardi's vehicle and attempted to ram another cruiser, Lombardi recalled Thursday. After the crash, Carlson fled on foot, running into a wooded area where Akron police helped deputies arrest him.
"When you rammed my car at 130 mph, you were trying to take me out," he told Carlson.
Attorney Troy Reeves who represented Carlson said his client was under the influence of drugs during the spree and described the series of incidents as a "nightmare."
"I'm sorry for scaring other people. I'm sorry that it had to happen," Carlson said. "I can't really tell you the reason why it happened; it was like a snowball effect."
Mark Carlson's father asks for visitation
Before he was sentenced, Carlson's 83-year-old father asked if he could visit his son in prison. In previous prison sentences, he was not allowed to see his son.
"I've been a victim in previous cases. I was never allowed to see him," he said. "I'm 83; if that rule was applied now, I might never see Mark again."
Although Michael said she would not limit visitations, she explained that she can't dictate how prisons operate.
After Carlson received his sentence, two deputies escorted him out of the courtroom. He turned to his dad and smiled.
"I love you, dad," he said.
Bryce Buyakie covers courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @bryce_buyakie.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Mark Carlson sentenced to 15 to 19½ years in carjacking, kidnapping
