A pre-dawn carjacking at a San Diego gas pump turned into a multi-state pursuit early Saturday, ending hours later with the arrest of a suspect in Yuma, Arizona, police said.
The incident unfolded shortly before 5 a.m. at a gas station on Via De La Valle in the city’s North City area. According to investigators, a man approached a motorist, pulled a handgun, and demanded the victim’s Lexus ES-300, along with a wallet and phone. The victim was not injured, and the suspect sped away in the Lexus.
Officers later used tracking technology to locate the stolen vehicle and realized it was heading east toward Arizona. San Diego police notified the Yuma Police Department and the Arizona Highway Patrol, according to Times of San Diego. Highway Patrol officers attempted a traffic stop, and after a vehicle pursuit in the Yuma area, local officers ultimately took the suspect into custody, the outlet reported.
How Police Tracked the Lexus Across State Lines
San Diego has invested in real-time tracking tools and its Real-Time Operations Center to zero in on stolen vehicles faster, a setup city officials say enables quicker coordination with other agencies.
The City of San Diego has highlighted how the Real-Time Operations Center and automated license-plate recognition alerts have helped detectives recover some stolen cars in as little as 30 minutes, a pattern echoed in the rapid cross-state recovery of the Lexus.
Robbery Detectives on the Case, Public Asked to Call In Tips
SDPD’s Robbery Unit is leading the investigation and is asking anyone with information to call 619-531-2299 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477, according to Times of San Diego.
Authorities have not released the suspect’s name or provided details on potential charges as the case remains open. San Diego police, the Arizona Highway Patrol, and Yuma officers all played a role in the arrest, underscoring the increasingly tight law-enforcement cooperation along the border region.
