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Orange County District Attorney
Press Release
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Tony Rackauckas, District Attorney
401 Civic Center Drive West
Santa Ana, CA 92701
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For Immediate Release
Case # 11CF2844
October 18, 2011
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Contacts:
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Susan Kang Schroeder
Chief of Staff
Office: 714-347-8408
Cell: 714-292-2718
Farrah Emami
Spokesperson
Office: 714-347-8405
Cell: 714-323-4486
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MAN TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR KIDNAPPING TODDLER IN CAR SEAT DURING ALISO VIEJO CARJACKING
SANTA ANA A man will be arraigned today for kidnapping a toddler, who was strapped into a car seat, during a carjacking in Aliso Viejo. James Christopher Corr, 34, Mission Viejo, is charged with one felony count each of carjacking, kidnapping during the commission of a carjacking, child abuse, child stealing, second degree vehicle burglary, first degree robbery, aggravated assault, hit and run with injury, vandalism over $400, two felony counts of first degree residential burglary, one misdemeanor count of resisting an officer, and sentencing enhancements for non-accomplice present during a residential burglary and a prior prison conviction in Nevada for leaving the scene of an accident in 2007. If convicted, Corr faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison. The People will be requesting Corr be held on $1 million bail at his arraignment today, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011, at 3:00 p.m. in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.
Between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. on Oct. 15, 2011, Corr is accused of breaking into a Honda Accord parked in a lot in front of a business in Aliso Viejo and stealing a purse and its contents, including credit cards. He is accused of fleeing the scene.
Shortly after 8:00 a.m., Corr is accused of going into a nearby neighborhood. Victim Suzanne C., who was eight months pregnant, was preparing to leave her home and was in her garage with the garage door open. The victim put her Saint Bernard in the caged-off rear area of her Volvo sport utility vehicle (SUV) and then put her 2-year-old son, John Doe, in his child safety seat in the back seat of the car behind the drivers seat. She placed her keys in the car and left the drivers door and door next to her son open as she walked into her home through the internal garage access door for a matter of seconds to get her sons sippy cup.
In the few seconds that Suzanne C. was inside her home, Corr is accused of getting into the drivers seat of her car. The victim walked out and began screaming at Corr to let her get her son as John Doe cried in the back seat. The victim attempted to remove her son from his car seat through the open door, but the defendant is accused of backing out of the garage and knocking Suzanne C. to the ground with the SUV. He is accused of running over her foot as he rapidly reversed, leaving tire skid marks from his speed.
Corr is accused of hitting the frame of the victims garage door and crashing into a neighbors garage, causing the open rear door next to the crying toddler to break and hang off. Corr is accused of fleeing in the stolen vehicle with the knowledge that John Doe was in the back as Suzanne C. chased after the defendant screaming for her son.
A neighbor who witnessed the carjacking and kidnapping followed the defendant in her own car. Corr is accused of speeding and driving erratically as he attempted to flee, including running through an intersection on a red light.
The defendant is accused of driving into an adjoining neighborhood and jumping out of the car without putting it in park with the engine still running. The car with the child and dog inside ran up a curb, nearly hitting a tree, before coming to a stop. The pursuing neighbor stopped to help John Doe as Corr fled on foot.
The defendant is accused of running away and jumping over fences of homes into residents back yards. He is accused of taking pruning shears from one home, removing the screen of a sliding door, and unsuccessfully attempting to pry open the locked door in an effort to escape and get inside the house.
Corr is accused of again running away, at which time he was spotted by a responding Orange County Sheriffs Department (OCSD) deputy. Corr is accused of refusing to stop as the deputy chased him. The defendant was ultimately caught during the foot chase and arrested. At the time of his arrest, Corr is accused of being in possession of one of the stolen credit cards from the earlier car burglary in his pants pocket.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Aleta Bryant of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case.
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