A Maryland man is facing sweeping criminal charges after authorities say he carried out a violent carjacking and shooting spree that stretched across Prince George’s County and ended only when he climbed into a vehicle with a manual transmission and could not drive it.
Larry James Simpson, 68, has been indicted on 71 counts, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime. The charges include multiple allegations of attempted murder, first-degree assault, and armed carjacking. The indictment was returned Thursday.
Prosecutors allege Simpson targeted 17 victims at random on May 15 in Greenbelt, College Park, and Riverdale. Investigators say the violence began around 2:30 p.m. on Pierce Avenue in College Park, where Simpson allegedly opened fire on a 64-year-old man.
Authorities say he later crashed a stolen vehicle, got out, and continued shooting. According to Washington, D.C., Fox affiliate WTTG, the episode escalated as Simpson, armed with what police described as an assault-style rifle, allegedly fired at a woman before taking her car.
Police also say an off-duty officer witnessed that carjacking and began following Simpson. That pursuit, investigators allege, led to another burst of gunfire, with Simpson accused of shooting at the officer as the chase unfolded.
The case now moves forward with Simpson facing dozens of serious felony charges tied to what authorities describe as a broad and random spree of violence.
When the defendant got to Riverdale, he flipped the stolen car he was driving while speeding and then jumped out of the vehicle while firing his weapon, authorities say. It was at this point that he ran out of ammunition.
When Simpson reached a third car and stole it, he realized it was manual and that he did not know how to use the clutch, prosecutors said, according to regional NBC affiliate WRC. At least two people were hurt in the rampage, one from a bullet and another from shattered glass.
Authorities have not offered a suspected motive for the crime spree. They have, however, expressed frustration that the defendant was free to walk the streets — after he was reportedly convicted of first-degree murder in 1987 and was released into a special program in 2022.
Simpson is due to appear in court on July 10.
