Calvin Brown
A firearm used in the July 2023 crime spree. Photo courtesy of San Diego County Sheriff’s Office

A defendant who left a child seriously injured while fleeing authorities during a countywide crime spree last year now faces decades in state prison.

A judge sentenced Calvin Brown, 27, convicted in August, to 59 years and eight months in prison. A jury convicted him on numerous charges, including committing four carjackings at gunpoint, assault with a semi-automatic firearm, animal abuse, robbery and hit and run causing permanent serious injury.

An accomplice, Rolaena Blunt, 20, pleaded guilty on Aug. 22 to assault with a semi-automatic firearm on two victims, and a separate robbery and carjacking count for her role in the crimes. Blunt received a 10-year, eight-month sentence.

The crime spree, which began in the early morning hours of July 3, 2023, started in downtown San Diego, then stretched from Imperial Beach to Encinitas where drivers were held at gunpoint, along with eight other victims.

In downtown, Brown carjacked a BMW, then fled from police at speeds exceeding 90 miles per hour. Two days later, Brown and Blunt used the carjacked BMW to travel to a home in Imperial Beach where Brown shot a woman and a dog.

The two then drove to a home in San Diego where Brown shot at a woman after he vandalized her residence. They proceeded to a business on El Cajon Boulevard where Blunt stole items and Brown shot at employees who tried to stop her.

Fleeing the robbery, Brown drove over 140 miles per hour on Interstate 805, colliding with two vehicles, causing one to roll over multiple times. The wreck left a 12-year-old girl with serious injuries.

Brown and Blunt abandoned the stolen BMW, fled on foot off the freeway and carjacked a second car, a Nissan Versa they drove to Cardiff, where they abandoned it and carjacked a third driver at gunpoint. Brown fired on the last carjacking victim while being pursued in the stolen Ford Fusion.

The spree ended at a fitness center in Encinitas after citizens called the authorities and San San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies apprehended Brown and Blunt. San Diego police also investigated the case, while Deputy District Attorney Jim Koerber prosecuted the defendants.

The duo “terrorized multiple groups of victims during a disturbing and violent two-day crime spree that crisscrossed the county, and they are now being held accountable,” District Attorney Summer Stephan said.