Man attacks driver with gun as he goes to gas station in Detroit to get morning coffee

DETROIT – A man pistol-whipped and stole a motorist as he headed to a Detroit gas station to get his morning coffee, but was caught days later still using the stolen car.

Bryan Cordarill Wilkins, 36, is named in a criminal complaint filed on July 24, 2024.

Car theft in Detroit

On July 18, 2024, a 61-year-old man drove his 2008 Jeep Patriot to the Amoco gas station at 10001 Fenkell Avenue on Detroit’s west side to get his morning coffee before work, a routine he had followed for five years.

After the man bought his coffee at the supermarket, he returned to the Patriot and got into the driver’s seat. As he tried to close the door, Wilkins ripped it open again, pointed a gun at him and said, “Give me your keys and your money (expletive),” according to officers.

The criminal complaint states that the car theft was recorded by surveillance cameras at the gas station.

The driver got out of his car and Wilkins pointed the gun at him, officials said.

When the man tried to run away, he fell and dislocated his left shoulder, completely tore his rotator cuff and shattered his left upper arm up to the elbow, the complaint states.

He got up and walked to the gas station door, but said he realized he still had the keys. Wilkins followed him and said, “Didn’t I tell you to give me your keys and your money?”

Officials said Wilkins hit the man in the back of the head with his gun. The man gave Wilkins his keys and went inside.

Wilkins got into the Patriot and drove away, authorities said.

Driver injuries

The man asked the clerk to call 911 and an ambulance took him to a nearby hospital.

He was in hospital for three days and underwent emergency surgery on his left arm. Doctors said he will not be able to regain full function of his arm for about six months.

After his release, the man described the car thief to police and said he was armed with a Glock pistol.

Wilkins found with stolen Jeep

Detroit police spotted the stolen Patriot on July 21, parked near the intersection of Pierson Street and Eaton Avenue on the city’s west side.

Wilkins eventually got out and walked south of Pierson Street. Officers ordered Wilkins to stop, and he fled west through a field toward Burt Road, they said.

Wilkins fell during the chase, got up and continued running. He eventually stopped and was arrested, officials said. He was then identified.

A dog tracked Wilkins and found a set of keys and a cell phone that he had lost during the chase. The keys belonged to the stolen Patriot.

When police searched the phone, they found text messages from Wilkins telling another person he had stolen a truck with a Glock, an expert said. The text message mentioning the truck was sent about 30 minutes after the car was stolen.

Application for arrest warrant

Wilkins has previously pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon, delivering/manufacturing drugs, armed robbery, auto theft, possession of contraband by a prisoner, resisting police and possession/use of body armor by a violent felon.

At the time of his arrest on July 21, Wilkins was under the supervision of a probation officer with the Michigan Department of Corrections.

The criminal complaint states that there is reasonable suspicion that Wilkins took a car from a person by force or intimidation with the intent to cause death or serious bodily harm.

An arrest warrant was requested for Wilkins.