'It’s very unnerving': Windsor carjacker allegedly used noxious substance on drivers

A string of carjackings and attempted vehicle robberies has a south Walkerville resident on edge after one took place on her driveway.

“It's very unnerving, it's usually safe in our neighborhood,” says Janice Slater.

She woke up to commotion when a newspaper delivery man came to her door around 6 a.m. after a carjacking on her driveway in the 2500 block of Lincoln Avenue.

“We brought him into the house,” says Slater. “He told us that the assailant had dragged him out of the car and threw him on our grass and the sprayed his face with pepper spray.”

They called police and talked with him more while waiting to be taken to hospital about what seemed like a random act.

“He was holding his head and say he didn't know why this happened to him and he told us about his very ill wife and how this you know, he just wanted to go home and take care of his wife. And it's very sad,” she says.

Another carjacking took place in the 300 block of Tuscarora Street about an hour earlier.

The 300 block on Tuscarora Street in Windsor. Ont., on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. (Melanie Kentner/CTV News Windsor)Police say a man was sitting in his 2017 Honda Civic. When he rolled down his window he was sprayed in the face with a noxious substance and his vehicle was taken.

“I've sort of dismissed the idea of getting the camera but I'm changing my mind now,” says Slater.

There were two other attempted car robberies this weekend believed to be by the same male suspect.

It started at a fast food drive thru in the 300 block of Tecumseh Road East around 3:30 a.m., when a male suspect allegedly walked up to a man’s car window, assaulted him, and demanded his vehicle.

A suspect allegedly attempted to carjack a vehicle from a Burger King drive-thru in the 300 block of Tecumseh Road East in Windsor, Ont. on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. (Melanie Kentner/CTV News Windsor) The motorist honked and the suspect left.

The final incident took place a day later, at 3 a.m. Sunday morning in the 1400 block of Holburn Street.

A man matching the suspect’s description sprayed a victim with a noxious substance and attempted to steal their vehicle.1400 block of Holburn Street where an attempted car robbery occurred in Windsor, Ont. on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. (Melanie Kentner/CTV News Windsor)

The suspect for all four incidents is described as a black male, 30 years old, 5’6” tall, with a heavy build.

A light grey van, possibly a Grand Caravan, is believed to have been driven by an accomplice.

Anyone with surveillance video or information is urged to contact police.

Investigators urge residents and businesses in the immediate vicinity of these incidents to review their security surveillance cameras for evidence. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Major Crimes Unit at 519-255-6700, ext. 4830. They can also contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 519-258-8477 (TIPS) or online at www.catchcrooks.com.