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Jury convicts man in violent car wash carjacking

Phillip Dent was accused of grabbing the victim by the neck, biting her and pulling her from her vehicle as she went through a car wash.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. — An Arapahoe County jury convicted a man late last week on all five counts related to the violent carjacking and attack of a woman at a car wash in Littleton last year.

Phillip Dent was found guilty Friday on all five counts he faced. The charges included:

  • Robbery
  • Aggravated motor vehicle theft
  • Assault
  • Arson
  • Second-degree burglary

He was arrested in March 2021 at a hotel located near 36th Avenue and Quebec Street in Denver in connection with the incident on Jan. 28 of that year at the automatic wash bay at the Atlantis Car Wash on South Federal Circle.

The victim said she drove into the car wash and put her vehicle in park which automatically unlocked the doors. Littleton Police (LPD) said as soon as the wash cycle started and the windshield was obscured, the suspect quickly walked up to the driver's door and opened it.

RELATED: Suspect identified in carjacking of 63-year-old woman in Littleton

Littleton Police (LPD) said Dent grabbed the woman's arm and yelled for her to get out of the car. She resisted and tried to fight him off, according to police, but he grabbed her by the neck, bit her, then pulled her from the minivan and threw her to the ground before taking off in the vehicle. 

The attack was captured by a security camera.

The woman suffered minor injuries, according to police.

Dent is due in court for a status hearing on Feb. 28 and at that time a sentencing date will be set, according to a spokesperson for the district attorney's office.

Credit: Littleton Police Department
Phillip Michael Dent

RELATED: Carjacking suspect arrested after 63-year-old woman assaulted, bitten, police say

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