PHOENIX — A man who was arrested and accused of stealing a car while two ten-year-old boys sat in the back seat, is sharing his story exclusively with 12News.
“He’s a danger to everybody and he needs to be locked up and helped,” explained Wendy Grace, whose car was stolen a few weeks ago.
The man Grace is referring to is 41-year-old Shawn Dillman, accused of stealing a car at a Phoenix Circle K gas station near the Loop 101 and 7th Avenue a few weeks ago. Grace’s children were in the back seat.
The two 10-year-old boys were able to escape before Dillman allegedly drove the stolen car to Peoria, where he was eventually arrested on multiple felony counts. But so far, he’s never been charged.
On Thursday, 12News had a chance to get Dillman’s side of the story.
We asked him what happened that day at the Circle K and if he remembered anything from that day. “I do. I thought I was being chased and I didn’t realize what had happened until afterward,” Dillman said. “I had stopped taking my meds and it just completely distorted my reality.”
We asked Dillman if there was anything he wanted to say to Grace and her children.
“I’m scared. I’m sorry…for that,” he said.
Last week, the County Attorney’s Office told us they have not filed charges because Phoenix and Peoria police were still investigating the case. So, for now, Dillman, who was getting evicted as we approached him to talk on Thursday, is homeless and out in the streets.
“I would want to see, if he were my client, I would want to see him in the behavioral health system from the get-go,” said Holly Gieszl, a Phoenix attorney at the Gieszl Law Firm.
Gieszl said Dillman is a perfect example of someone falling through the cracks in the system.
“I’m glad that there’s not a premature rush to charge somebody, throw them in jail, without all the facts,” Gieszl said she would have liked to see an immediate evaluation after Dillman’s arrest.
“Is this person a danger to themselves, are they a danger to others. If they determine they are, then there’s the next step of getting them admitted to Desert Vista Hospital which is our evaluation agency.
But for Dillman, that never happened.
So for now, Dillman is left without the help he needs. It’s not clear if and when law enforcement will bring about any charges.