Monday evening, an ETSU Alert e-mail was sent out to students to warn them of a carjacking that occurred on campus around 3:40 p.m.
According to a follow-up e-mail sent Tuesday, a student was parked in Lot 15A behind the D.P. Culp Center when she was approached by a man carrying a gun. The man ordered her to exit her car and then he drove away in the vehicle, a black 2004 Ford Mustang convertible.
The e-mail also included a photo of the suspect, who has been identified David Lee Forney II.
Forney, 11 Brooklawn Court, Johnson City, has a warrant issued for his arrest on the charges of carjacking and aggravated assault. “Other jurisdictions across the country are being notified,” said Jack Cotrel, director of Public Safety. Forney has a long criminal record in Washington County and is presently wanted in the state of Indiana for burglary-related charges, Cotrel said.
It wasn’t a tip from witnesses that led police to describe Forney as a suspect. It was his dog, Roxy Forney. “The individual was carrying a dog when he approached our victim,” said Cotrel. “The dog tried to get in the car, but failed to do so.” The police then used the information on Roxy’s collar that led them to the home of Forney’s father. “Mr. Forney, our suspect’s father said, ‘Yes, my son left with Roxy,'” Cotrel said.
“We’re going to continue to maintain the level of patrol and police presence that we’ve always had,” said Cotrel. “Yes, we were the victims of a carjacking, but I think it’s a situation where it was just our turn … I don’t think there’s any way to specifically prevent something like this from happening.
“What we can do is encourage and try to educate our community on how to respond if they become the victim of an instance like this,” he said.

Author