Woman Gets Out Of Jail, Carjacks Vehicle With 99-Year-Old Passenger
RANCHO CUCAMONGA (CBSLA.com) — A Hesperia woman faces charges of carjacking and kidnapping Thursday after authorities say she jumped into a parked car left running in front of the West Valley Detention Center and drove off, with a 99-year-old woman inside.
Monique Irene Cadena, 24, had just been cited and released from the Rancho Cucamonga jail after being arrested at 10:30 a.m. in Victorville for being under the influence of a controlled substance, according to the San Bernardino County sheriff's Detective Matthew Gordon said.
Witnesses in the visitor area of the jail say she spoke to several people in an effort to get a ride.
Investigators believe that when she left the jail, she noticed the idling 2004 white Hyundai Sonata and fled the area with the 99-year-old woman. Witnesses told deputies they heard the victim screaming as Cadena drove off.
The victim was dropped off at a gas station at Valley and Cherry avenues in Fontana just minutes later, unharmed. Employees said she came inside the gas station asking for help. Deputies responded and took her back to the jail to be interviewed before returning her to her family.
After an extensive search of the area, Cadena was found in the stolen vehicle at Sierra and Foothill in Fontana at about 10 p.m., authorities said.
"When she was initially booked in the West Valley Detention Center, it was for being under the influence of drugs, which is a misdemeanor and a cite and release offense," Deputy Jacob Bailey told KCAL9. "Now she's looking at two felonies of carjacking and kidnapping."
Cadena, who is being held on $250,000 bail, will make her first court appearance on the new charges Friday.