Man sentenced to federal prison for carjacking that led to chase, crash

Emily Baude and Krystal Frasier KSTP

A man charged at the federal level for an incident that caused a police chase and ended in a crash has been sentenced.

According to court records, Carson Thomas McCoy, 22, of Blaine, was sentenced on Tuesday to nearly 11 years (130 months) in prison, as well as three years of supervised release, for one count of carjacking and one count of aiding and abetting a carjacking.

As part of a deal, federal court documents show charges of brandishing a firearm during a crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm were dismissed.

McCoy was initially charged via indictment with one count of carjacking and one count of felon in possession of a firearm.

As previously reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, McCoy had been charged at the state level with second-degree assault and fleeing police. However, Anoka County prosecutors later dropped charges at the state level due to the federal case being filed.

On Aug. 10, 2022, just before 1:30 p.m., deputies from the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office responded to a burglary in Ham Lake in which numerous items, including weapons and money, were stolen.

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The weapons included a Springfield Armory .45 caliber Model XD Mod-2 handgun and two loaded ammunition magazines, according to a criminal complaint.

A surveillance video at the property showed a black BMW sedan at the property near the time of the burglary, officials say.

Less than 30 minutes after the burglary, law enforcement received word shots had been fired around Lexington Avenue Northeast and 155th Avenue Northeast in Ham Lake, the complaint added.

Witnesses said a black BMW sedan nearly collided with three people riding motorcycles before someone fired several shots from a handgun at the three people. Two of the motorcyclists said the person fired at them from the sunroof.

Shortly after, the Blaine Police Department assisted the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office in finding the BMW but it fled from law enforcement when they tried to stop the vehicle. The BMW eventually crashed into an Anoka County Sheriff’s Office patrol squad before hitting a tree.

The driver was later identified as McCoy.

Law enforcement searched the car and found the following items:

  • Two guns including the Springfield Armory taken in the burglary, and a Bersa .380 handgun with the serial number scratched off.
  • A small amount of white powder that appeared to be heroin or fentanyl.
  • A significant amount of crystalline powder, consistent with methamphetamine.
  • Crushed pills.
  • $851 in cash, believed to have been taken from the burglary.
  • Mail from 12 different addresses in Ham Lake, Isanti, and North Branch.
  • A Minnesota ID with a different name than McCoy.

The complaint states that McCoy used the Minnesota ID to take the BMW from U Car Connect in Eden Prairie. He arranged a test drive of the car and never returned.

McCoy has several previous convictions including third-degree burglary, fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, and fraud.