Man Receives 3-Year Term for Northridge Carjacking : Crime: North Hollywood resident is sentenced immediately after pleading guilty.

A North Hollywood man pleaded guilty Monday to robbery after carjacking a Mercedes in Northridge and crashing the vehicle only a few blocks away in an incident that occurred less than two weeks ago.

Damien Cord, 24, was immediately sentenced to state prison for three years by Municipal Court Judge Juelann Cathey.

“I think he realized the evidence against him was pretty strong,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Bernadette de Barajas said.

Martin Baptist, 47, was at the intersection of Lassen Street and Reseda Boulevard at about 7:45 p.m. March 23 when Cord smashed out the passenger window of his 1984 Mercedes 500 SEL. Police believe Cord used a rock to smash the window.

Cord climbed through the window and demanded that Baptist turn over the car, the victim reported to authorities.

“You get the hell out or we’ll kill you,” Cord demanded, according to Baptist.

Cord reached into his coat, which made Baptist believe he was armed with a gun, according to de Barajas.

Baptist surrendered the car. When Cord took the driver’s seat, another man got into the passenger seat. This second assailant remains at large and police do not have any leads to his whereabouts, de Barajas said.

Cord drove a few blocks before smashing the Mercedes into a fence on Lindley Avenue.

Cord was captured after he walked into a fire station seeking treatment for injuries he said he received when he was struck during a hit-and-run accident. But firefighters noticed that Cord fit the description of one of the carjacking suspects, and they summoned police.

After he was taken into custody, Baptist identified Cord as his attacker.

This carjacking is one of a recent spate of attacks that have plagued the San Fernando Valley.

Two weeks before Baptist’s car was stolen, a Chatsworth man was shot and killed by a carjacker who stole the victim’s Mercedes.

Two days after Cord was taken into custody, a young man fleeing a Van Nuys grocery store robbery was killed when he crashed the vehicle he had carjacked during his escape.

Last week, Sherri Foreman and her 13-week-old fetus were killed when she was fatally stabbed by a man who demanded her BMW. The 29-year-old Sherman Oaks woman had just withdrawn cash at an automated teller. Her assailant grabbed her purse but did not steal her car.

The rash of violence associated with recent carjackings has led Gov. Pete Wilson to call for increased penalties and to seek classifying it as a violent crime.