MORGAN HILL
– Police are still searching for a carjacker who stole an Acura
Integra Tuesday night and was possibly involved in an attempted
robbery the previous night.
MORGAN HILL – Police are still searching for a carjacker who stole an Acura Integra Tuesday night and was possibly involved in an attempted robbery the previous night.
Sgt. Rick Rodriguez of the Morgan Hill Police Department said this morning that, while the descriptions are similar, police are unable to determine whether they were the same person.
The most striking similarity is the description of the weapon used in each crime – a knife with a curved, fixed, chrome blade. The two victims differed over how long the blade was, however.
“One victim says it’s 12 inches long, and the other says it’s six inches long,” MHPD Cpl. Rodney Reno said.
The suspect in the Tuesday night incident was described as Hispanic in his early 20s, 5 feet, 6 inches or 5 feet, 7 inches in height and 140 pounds with a shaved head and light facial hair, black or brown in color. He was wearing a white T-shirt and jeans.
The suspect in Monday’s incident was described as a Hispanic male, 20 to 25 years old, 5 feet, 7 inches in height and 170 pounds with a shaved head.
In Tuesday’s incident, the suspect and the car owner – who lives in Morgan Hill – went for a test drive at about 6:40 p.m. in the area of Tassajara Circle and East Dunne Avenue.
The suspect placed a knife to the victim’s throat and demanded the vehicle. The victim, who notified police after walking a short distance home, was not injured. He left his cellular phone in the stolen auto.
Reno said the black, 1995 Integra, with California license plate 3SOC388, has not been recovered.
At about 8 p.m. Monday, a suspect took a cell phone from a Morgan Hill man sitting outside a pizza parlor in the Tennant Station Shopping Center. The suspect initially demanded that the man hand over his wallet and the keys to his car, but when the man ran inside the pizza parlor after handing over his cell phone, the suspect ran off.
Police Wednesday morning were attempting to review a surveillance tape from the nearby Bank of the West branch to determine if the incident was filmed. By Wednesday evening the tape had not proved useful but was still being reviewed, according to Rodriguez.
Tuesday night’s incident began sometime Monday night, when a man claiming to be named Carlos called the victim of the carjacking to set up a time for a test drive, police said. When the two could not agree on a time, the test drive was postponed until the next day. Reno said it has not been determined how the suspect knew the car was for sale.
The suspect was dropped off by another man at about 7 p.m. He told the victim he was on his way home from his job at the Gilroy Premium Outlets.
Morgan Hill police ask anyone with information about these incidents to call them at 779-2101. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 778-STOP (7867).
