3 Men Arrested After Carjacking Attempt On Plainclothes Cop
WEST COVINA (CBS) — Three men are in custody after police say they tried to carjack a West Covina police officer in an unmarked car on a plainclothes assignment.
Jerith Sims, 19, of Covina, 18-year-old Ronue Franklin of Los Angeles and 19-year-old Fredshun Cooper of Covina were arrested shortly after the attempted carjacking Monday afternoon. Each man was held on $130,000 bail.
The officer was driving an unmarked car on West Covina Parkway Monday afternoon when he saw four men throwing gang signs at passing motorists near Toluca Avenue.
The four men approached the officer's car when he stopped at the intersection, police said.
"One of the men yelled out a gang name, reached under his shirt to his waistband as if reaching for a weapon, and demanded that the officer get out of the car," police said.
Instead, the officer drove to the parking lot of a library, chased by the men, and he radioed for help. The officer then got out of the vehicle, identified himself as an officer, and the men fled. Three of the suspects were quickly arrested.
None of them were armed, police said.
The three men wee booked on suspicion of carjacking, resisting arrest and "challenging to fight." They are scheduled to appear in court in West Covina on Wednesday.
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