Police: Roseville Carjacking Suspect Took Car With Family Inside, May Have Changed Vehicles
ROSEVILLE (CBS13) — A carjacking suspect is on the run after stealing a car with a mother and her young daughter inside.
The suspect eventually dropped off the victims, and now police are trying to catch him before he targets anyone else.
Minutes before closing time at a Roseville consignment store, Jeff Jackson says a man ran in and demanded car keys from an employee.
"Had scratches on his neck that were fresh apparently according to our employee asked for her car keys. She said no and he kinda, off he went," he said.
That's when Roseville Police believe the desperate suspect spotted a woman in a car with her daughter in the parking lot.
"He jumped in, took a short ride, let them out and then took off on their car," said police spokeswoman Dee Dee Gunther.
Jessika James was just starting her shift at ASR Restaurant and tried to help calm the mother and daughter who had just gone on an unexpected ride with a man on the run.
"He just forced his way into the car and drove them, and she was crying and screaming and the little girl in the back of course was very scared," James said. "And luckily they pulled in the parking lot and he pushed them out of the car."
Investigators say it all began when the suspect spotted officers helping out Dennis Morillas, who called them after hearing voices near his backyard. Morillas was showing officers how to access the area, when the suspect spotted the officers who he thought were looking for him. He then took off, looking for a car to steal.
Why the suspect ran in the first place, and why he desperately needed a car are still a mystery.
"He apparently had a guilty conscience about something," Gunther said.
Police say they do have leads on who he is. After he ran from police, he left behind a car.
Police are still looking for the car he stole. It's a black Volkswagen Jetta with a license plate number 6VOU192.
Police also have information he may be a maroon Chrysler Pacifica now.