Chula Vista Police have taken a man into custody for carjacking a husband and wife visiting San Diego at knife point, Chula Vista Police said.
Police tried to stop the car around 11 p.m. Saturday but the man did not stop, police said, starting a brief pursuit at the 2300 block of Otay Lakes Road. The pursuit ended at Lake Shore Drive and East Lake, where police took the man into custody.
The husband and wife became victims of the carjacking Saturday when an unknown man wielding a knife stole their rental car, police confirmed.
The crime happened at around 1 p.m. at 3860 Old Town Ave. Police said the couple drove into an Arco gas station. The husband went inside and left the engine running while his wife waited in the car.
Moments later, a stranger opened the door and sat down in the driver’s seat, brandishing a knife. He told the woman to get out. She followed his orders and he took off in the rental car.
Police said the victims described the carjacking suspect as a white man in his 40s, measuring approximately 5-foot-7 with a thin build. He had curly, reddish-blonde hair and was wearing a white, orange and green striped polo shirt and jeans.
Police said the stolen car is a silver 2015 Nissan Versa with a Nevada license plate of 714APJ. The passenger rear taillight of the vehicle is broken and is covered with red tape.
One witness told NBC 7 the suspect looked like he may have been a transient.
“He wasn’t hesitating at all. He looked like he knew what he wanted and what he was going to get,” the witness said.
An undercover robbery detective said the tourist couple is from Washington. They had their luggage, clothing and other personal items inside the car.
Police have put out an alert to patrol cars and are asking the public to keep an eye out for the stolen vehicle. The investigation is ongoing. The tourists were not injured in the incident.
