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 Wednesday that, while the
descriptions are similar, police are unable to determine whether
they were the same person.
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 Wednesday that, while the descriptions are similar, police are unable to determine whether they were the same person.
On Thursday, Cpl. Rodney Reno said the investigation is continuing. The witnesses will likely be asked to sit with a police sketch artist. If the two witnesses describe a similar suspect, there may be a link between the two events.
In Tuesday’s night’s incident, the suspect and the car owner 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 policed after walking a short distance home, was not injured.
The victim left his cell phone in the auto.
Cpl. Rodney Reno said the Integra with California license plate 3SOC388 has still not been recovered.
At about 8 p.m. Monday night, a suspect with a similar physical description to the suspect in Tuesday’s incident took a cell phone from a Morgan Hill man sitting outside a pizza parlor in the Tennant Station Shopping Center. The suspect had initially demanded the man hand over his wallet and keys to his car.
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 Thursday evening the tape had not proved useful but it was still being reviewed, according to Sgt. Rick Rodriguez.
Sometime Monday night, a man named Carlos called the victim of Tuesday’s 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 Tuesday.
In the second incident, the suspect was dropped off by another man at about 7 p.m. The suspect told the victim he was on his way home from his job at the Outlets in Gilroy.
Reno said it has not been determined how the suspect knew the car was for sale.
The suspect in the Tuesday night incident was described as Hispanic in his early 20s, 5’6” or 5’7” 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 light-complected Hispanic male, 20 to 25 years old, 5’7” in height and 170 pounds with a shaved head.
Rodriguez said that, while the descriptions are similar, police are unable determine whether or not they were the same person.
The most stroking 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,” Reno said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Morgan Hill Police Department at 779-2101. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 778-STOP (7867).
Staff writer Carol Holzgrafe also contributed to this story.
