A 31-year-old transient was charged Thursday with attempting to carjack a vehicle with three young children inside in an Anaheim Home Depot parking lot.
Colin James Sheehan was charged with one count of attempted carjacking and three counts of child abuse and endangerment, all felonies. Sheehan pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana and was ordered to return to court for a pretrial hearing Dec. 16 in the North Justice Center in Fullerton.
Sheehan, a convicted burglar, attempted to steal a family’s vehicle just before 5:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Home Depot store at 1095 Pullman St., said Anaheim police Sgt. Shane Carringer.
While the children’s mother was attempting to put a just-purchased Christmas tree on top of the vehicle, Sheehan attempted to steal it with the her son and two daughters — all younger than 10 — inside, Carringer said.
With help from other bystanders, Sheehan was stopped and police arrested him, Carringer said.