Salisbury man convicted of violent carjacking of elderly woman
SALISBURY, Md. – A Salisbury man has been convicted of charges stemming from a violent carjacking earlier this year.
On January 13th, the 80-year-old victim left her residence in Seaford and walked to her car parked in her driveway, at which time she was approached by Ralph Harmon Jr., who forced her into her vehicle at gunpoint, pistol whipped her, and drove away. Harmon robbed the victim of her jewelry and forced her to provide the PIN number to her debit card.
After crossing into Maryland, Harmon sexually assaulted and bound the victim’s hands together. After visiting multiple ATMs, Harmon drove the victim to a residence on Riverside Drive in Salisbury, at which point he forced her to walk onto a pier and pushed her into the cold Wicomico River. When the victim was able to surface, Harmon laid on the pair and pistol whipped her again, causing her to slip underwater again and sustain a laceration to her head.
Harmon then walked back to the victim’s vehicle and left the area, certain that the victim would not survive.
After more than 11 minutes in the freezing water, the victim was able to free her hands and climb up a kayak ramp onto the pier. She walked to Riverside Drive and was able to get help from passing motorists. She was taken to TidalHealth, where she received staples in her head and received care for multiple other injuries.
After leaving the victim, Harmon picked up five of his friends and went on a spending spree using the victim’s debit card. Police found the victim’s vehicle in a parking lot on Main Street in Salisbury, ultimately locating Harmon, who immediately fled the area. He was apprehended after a brief foot chase and was found to still be in possession of the victim’s debit card.
After a four day jury trial, Harmon was convicted on Thursday of attempted first degree murder, attempted second degree murder, first and second degree rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment, armed robbery, and related offenses. Sentencing was postponed to allow for a pre-sentencing investigation, and Harmon will remain in custody pending sentencing.
