Woman Assaulted in Carjacking Outside Denny’s in Abilene, Suspect Arrested in Jones County

On Monday, March 3, 2025, at approximately 2:15 p.m., police responded to a reported stolen vehicle at the Denny’s restaurant located at East Overland Trail and Westlake Road near FM 600.

According to initial reports, a Black male with a beard, partial mustache, and a white baseball-style hat assaulted the female owner of a 2014 Santa Fe, striking her multiple times before taking the vehicle and fleeing the scene.

Officers began a search for the vehicle, which was later located in Jones County near County Road 323 and Highway 6. Jones County officers stopped the vehicle and took the suspect into custody.

The suspect, identified as 27-year-old Jarnac Napoleon Vandervilt, is listed as a transient in the Abilene area. He has been charged with second-degree felony robbery and is being held in the Taylor County Jail on a $75,000 bond.