A man remains behind bars Thursday after police say he carjacked, kidnapped and assaulted a woman who agreed to give him a ride in West Covina.
The woman, who police say is an Uber driver but wasn’t on the clock, agreed to help the man who approached and asked for a ride at a nearby gas station just before midnight on Jan. 27. That’s when things took a turn for the worse.
“I was offering him a free ride, I was going to give him the tip that I had previously — it’s insane,” said driver Casllie Scott.
Surveillance video captured the moment the man walks up to a car and tries to put his bicycle in the trunk. While the woman helps, the man gets into the front seat and tries to drive away.
“I knew he was going to try and run, so I don’t weigh a lot so I wrapped my body around him but only for a little bit,” said Scott, recounting the struggle against the carjacker.
Authorities say in an attempt to stop the carjacking, the woman managed to jump on top of him as he drove off at a high speed and crashed the car at the traffic light on Garvey and Azusa Avenue.
“The subject got out of the vehicle ran on foot east on Garvey. We received a 911 call from a Mercedes Benz dealership down the road that a subject matching the description was hiding at the property,” said Sergeant Stephen McLean with West Covina Police.
Todd Kazarine, general manager of the Mercedez Benz dealership, recounted seeing the arrest being made on security cameras.
“I know what I saw on our property based on the surveillance video. It looked like the guy was sitting in our van and the police approached,” said Kazarine. “We just saw the police take someone in. We were under the impression our security company had called them but let alone I guess she had called them and our security company.”
Police released the video, which shows officers and their K-9 unit arriving at the dealership and quickly making an arrest.
“Very unusual for these types of crimes to occur but it’s a good reminder that no matter where you be aware of your surroundings at all times,” said McLean.
The woman was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
NBC4 reached out to Uber for a comment on the incident but has not received a response.
The carjacker, who police identified as 28-year-old Fernando Olivo from El Monte, is still in custody and faces charges of carjacking, kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon. Olivo is due back in court in March.
[publish_date
