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2 Charged in Armed Carjacking in Tamarac and Coral Springs

Jalil Harris and Donald McGee {BSO}

By Kevin Deutsch

Two men have been charged with armed carjacking after a crime spree that included stealing a BMW at gunpoint in Tamarac and an armed robbery in Coral Springs, police records show.

Jalil Harris, 24, and Donald McGee, 27, both of Hollywood, began their recent string of violent crimes Sept. 13 by carjacking two people at gunpoint as the victims exited a 2016 silver Dodge Challenger outside Bahama Breeze in Oakland Park, according to an arrest affidavit.

Harris, McGee, and an unidentified cohort wore masks and carried guns as they demanded the male and female victims’ property, including the Challenger, their cell phones, a purse and wallet worth a total of about $25,000, according to an arrest affidavit filed by the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

The robbers fled in the stolen Challenger and, two days later, pulled off another armed carjacking, this time in the 8000 block of San Carlos Circle in Tamarac, according to BSO.

The female carjacking victim told deputies she had just parked her black 2021 BMW in front of her home when two men, later identified by deputies as Harris and McGee, demanded her purse and phone, records show.

The pair jumped in her BMW and got away with the car, the jewelry in her purse, and her phone, for a total haul worth about $58,000, according to BSO.

Following closely behind the BMW, the victim said, was a gray Dodge Challenger; the same car stolen by the culprits two days earlier, according to BSO.

The woman’s stolen BMW was equipped with a GPS device, which deputies used to track it to the 6000 block of Stirling Road, according to court records.

While checking the car’s geographic coordinates, deputies spotted the stolen Challenger, which fled when they tried to make a traffic stop, deputies said.

The Challenger, with Harris and McGee inside, sped north on I-95 before crashing near Miami Gardens Drive, deputies said. The men bailed out and were captured nearby, according to BSO.

The stolen BMW was recovered on Davie Road Extension.

According to deputies, Harris gave a detailed confession admitting that he and McGee were involved in the two armed carjackings, as well as two armed robberies committed Sept. 15, one in Coral Springs and another in Coconut Creek.

McGee was released from the Florida state prison system in October 2017 after serving a five-year sentence for carjacking, according to BSO.

Both men are charged with carjacking with a firearm and will eventually face federal charges encompassing all four alleged crimes, according to the arrest affidavit.

Harris and McGee are being held without bond at the BSO Main Jail, records show.

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Author Profile

Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning crime journalist and author. A graduate of Florida International University, Kevin has worked on staff at The Miami Herald, New York Daily News, and The Palm Beach Post.