Man convicted of Whitpain carjacking

NORRISTOWN >> A Norristown man who during a 20-minute crime spree carjacked or tried to carjack numerous terrified drivers in Whitpain was convicted of numerous charges and now awaits his fate from a judge.

George Ronald Mackrides III, 33, of the 200 block of East Marshall Street, was convicted in Montgomery County Court of charges of robbery of a motor vehicle, robbery, attempted theft of a motor vehicle, simple assault and recklessly endangering other persons in connection with multiple incidents that occurred in Whitpain on March 17, 2019.

Judge William R. Carpenter, who rendered the verdict after hearing testimony during a one-day nonjury trial, deferred sentencing until March so that court officials can complete a background investigation report about Mackrides, who potentially faces decades in prison.

Mackrides remains in the county jail without bail pending his sentencing hearing.

With the verdict, the judge determined Mackrides completed one carjacking and attempted to carjack four other drivers all the while endangering the lives of the occupants of the vehicles.

“These are truly violent offenses. He ran car to car. It affected each one of these victims severely. They don’t feel safe anymore when they’re getting in and out of their cars and when they’re on the road,” said Assistant District Attorney Tanner Beck, who vowed to seek a lengthy prison term against Mackrides. “The fear is living with them.”

Mackrides did not testify during the trial. But defense lawyer Denise Marone suggested the events unfolded so quickly during chaotic situations to the point the victims could not have definitively identified Mackrides as the attacker.

However, the victims who testified during the trial did identify Mackrides, who had numerous tattoos on his face and neck, as the man who accosted them in their vehicles.

The crime spree unfolded about 7:30 p.m. when Mackrides approached a woman standing outside a residence along Blue Bell Springs Drive and as he asked her for the time grabbed her keys and entered her vehicle, according to the criminal complaint filed by Whitpain Township police officers Jonathan Gallagher and Bradly Potter.