TYLER, Texas - Carjacked at knifepoint while pumping gas, a 75-year-old woman didn't give in without a fight. Mary Gean Smyth opened the door of her sport utility vehicle and doused the assailant in gas.
"I'm sure he was burning like mad," Smyth said of the Tuesday carjacking. "I mean, I drowned him right in the face."
Police caught up to Smyth's GMC Denali Envoy at a restaurant and arrested 52-year-old John Clay Stricker Jr., a transient with an address in the North Texas town of Lake Kiowa, Tyler police spokesman Don Martin said.
Smyth said police told her the suspect had apparently taken a shower because he had a bag with fuel-soaked clothes and a bar of soap, the Tyler Morning Telegraph reported in its Wednesday editions.
Smyth's wallet and credit cards were found in the car, but her cash was gone. A representative of the Brookshire grocery store, where Smyth was getting gas, has offered to pay for car cleaning and repairs, Smyth said.
Stricker was being held without bail Tuesday in the Smith County Jail on charges of parole violation, aggravated robbery and theft.
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