LOJACK LEADS TO ARREST POLICE FOLLOW SIGNAL TO MAN SUSPECTED IN CARJACKING ATTEMPTS.Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer PALMDALE - A reputed gang member sought for five days after reportedly trying to carjack car·jack or car-jack tr.v. car·jacked, car·jack·ing, car·jacks To commit forcible theft of (a vehicle) from its users. [car + (hi)jack. motorists in front of a shopping center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into was in custody Thursday after a nearly two-hour car chase. Ex-convict Jason Velasquez, 26, was arrested Thursday night in Quartz Hill following a chase that started in Palmdale and ran through Leona Valley and Lancaster after a LoJack car-theft signal was detected from the BMW BMW in full Bayerische Motoren Werke AG German automaker. Founded as an aircraft engine manufacturer in 1916, the company assumed the name Bayerische Motoren Werke and became known for its high-speed motorcycles in the 1920s. he was driving. ``He's being held on numerous charges and may face even more,'' said Sgt. Dan Oppenheim of the Palmdale sheriff's station. Velasquez, who was on parole for a March 2001 burglary conviction, was arrested on suspicion of carjacking The criminal taking of a motor vehicle from its driver by force, violence, or intimidation. The u.s. justice department categorizes the crime of carjacking as a "completed or attempted Robbery of a motor vehicle by a stranger , assault with a deadly weapon Assault with a Deadly Weapon is the term used to describe the act of threatening to harm one or more people by using a weapon (usually a firearm). Here, assault must be differentiated from battery as they are often confused. Assault is threatening to use force. and grand theft. He was being held without bail at the Lancaster sheriff's station. Deputies said they detected the LoJack signal from the BMW on Thursday evening and spotted the car on Elizabeth Lake Road near 10th Street West. The deputy attempted to pull the vehicle over but the driver sped off. Because deputies had a sheriff's helicopter overhead, they stopped their pursuit and allowed the helicopter to take over. Once the car reached Leona Valley, California Leona Valley is an unincorporated town located in the geographic Leona Valley of Los Angeles County, California, just west of Palmdale, California. The town has a population of about 2,200. Highway Patrol highway patrol n. A state law enforcement organization whose police officers patrol the public highways. officers took over the pursuit and followed him along streets through Lancaster, onto the Antelope Valley Freeway The Antelope Valley Freeway is a freeway in Los Angeles and Kern counties in southern California. It is signed as California State Highway 14 along its length. It connects Greater Los Angeles to the rapidly developing Antelope Valley. and back onto surface streets. Something happened to the car near 45th Street West and Avenue M, where it pulled to the side of the road and Velasquez surrendered to deputies without incident. Deputies had been hunting Velasquez since Saturday afternoon, when they were told he got into an argument with his girlfriend at a Quartz Hill mobile-home park and pointed a gun at several people. Fleeing in a car that belonged to someone else, Velasquez reportedly waved the gun at motorists while driving along Rancho Vista Boulevard, then crashed into another vehicle in front of a fast-food restaurant in the shopping center on Rancho Vista Boulevard and 30th Street West. Velasquez waved the gun at other motorists, trying to steal another vehicle, but when nobody stopped he walked into the nearby Vons supermarket, grabbing an elf hat from a boy and a Salvation Army Salvation Army, Protestant denomination and international nonsectarian Christian organization for evangelical and philanthropic work. Organization and Beliefs The Salvation Army has established branches in 100 countries throughout the world. worker's bell. Deputies surrounded the store but Velasquez was gone. Deputies suspect he was high on drugs. Investigators had been watching the mobile-home park and several other known hangouts since the incident but had not been able to locate him. No one was injured in either incident. Records show Velasquez was released from prison in December 2001 after the burglary conviction, but has been in and out of prison three times since on parole violations. His most recent arrest was Nov. 24 for driving without a license. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color -- ran in AV edition only) VELASQUEZ |
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