GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) A jury deliberated less than 10 minutes and found 32-year-old Bernard Hayes III guilty of a carjacking at a Taco Bell drive-thru in Gulfport.
The Sun Herald reports Circuit Judge Roger Clark sentenced Hayes on Wednesday to the maximum penalty of 15 years in prison for the carjacking on June 2, 2011. Hayes was convicted after a two-day trial in Harrison County Circuit Court.
The victim, a 23-year-old woman, testified she was in the drive-thru lane and placing an order about 9 p.m. when Hayes jumped in her car. She said Hayes threatened her life, punched her in the face and forced her out of her car.
Hayes was arrested a short time later by Gulfport police.
