Grandmother carjacked at Hempfield Burlington store; suspect arrested in Millvale

A woman was able to grab her 4-year-old granddaughter from the backseat of her Jeep Compass Sunday afternoon as a carjacker drove off with it outside a Hempfield clothing store, according to state police.

Paulino M. Romero, 39, is accused of wresting the woman’s key from her purse at 1 p.m. after confronting her in the Burlington parking lot, troopers said in court papers. The SUV was found abandoned and damaged about 42 miles away at a gas station in Millvale with cans of Budweiser beer inside.

Millvale police took Romero into custody on charges of trespass, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness in connection with an incident the same day. He did not have an address listed in court records.

State police interviewed him Monday morning at the Allegheny County Jail and learned Romero had been planning the car jacking for three days, according to court papers. He admitted to taking the woman’s Jeep and heading toward Pittsburgh.

Police said surveillance video from a business neighboring the gas station showed a man getting out of the Jeep. That description matched Romero, according to court papers.

He is charged with robbery of a motor vehicle, reckless endangerment and related offenses. Bail was denied. He was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison and did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A preliminary hearing is set for July 3.

Romero previously used a Harrison City address in court records, which date back to 2004 in Westmoreland County. He was sentenced to a year of probation in 2022 related to two retail theft charges. A case involving indecent exposure and resisting arrest charges stemming from a May incident in Jeannette is pending.