Police arrested a suspect this week who stole a woman’s car at gunpoint in a Morgan Hill shopping center parking lot a few weeks ago, authorities said.
The carjacking incident occurred about 11pm Oct. 12, when a female victim was walking to her vehicle in the north parking lot of 235 Tennant Station, Morgan Hill Police said in a press release. As she sat in the driver’s seat, a man approached her and, while brandishing a firearm, ordered her to exit the vehicle.
The woman exited the vehicle, and the suspect entered the driver’s seat, police said. The man fled in the victim’s vehicle in an eastbound direction on Tennant Avenue.
MHPD officers conducted an investigation and identified the suspect as Skyler Aroz, 21, of San Jose, authorities said.
Just after 8pm Nov. 1, a Morgan Hill Police patrol officer observed a stolen vehicle as it drove south on Church Street from Mast Street (down the street from the police station). Officers followed the vehicle to the end of Keith Way, where Aroz fled from the vehicle on foot, police said.
Officers quickly caught up to Aroz and arrested him without incident, according to police.
Aroz was later transported to the Santa Clara County Main Jail, where he was booked on suspicion of carjacking, brandishing an unloaded firearm, criminal threats, possession of a stolen vehicle, committing a felony while out on bail, and prior theft convictions.
“The Morgan Hill Police Department would like to remind everyone to always be aware of your surroundings and park in well-lit, high-activity areas,” says the press release.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about the incident can call MHPD Det. Adrian Sapien at 669.253.4995 or email Ad***********@mo********.gov . Information can be provided anonymously online at https://www.morgan-hill.ca.gov/FormCenter/Police-14/Morgan-Hill-Crime-Stoppers-88 or by calling 1.800.222.TIPS.
