Police arrest armed carjacking suspect following hours-long standoff in Newport Beach
Police arrested an armed carjacking suspect in Orange County following a brief pursuit that turned into an hours-long standoff Tuesday evening.
According to Newport Beach Police Department, officers learned of the carjacking at Fashion Island at around 4:15 p.m. At some point, the suspect bailed from that vehicle -- due to a broken axle -- and carjacked a second car, shortly before leading police on a pursuit.
A witness to the carjacking said the armed suspect pulled a lady from the first car before crashing into a nearby office. The suspect then ran into another parking lot, where he attempted to steal a black Grand Cherokee that was passing by. He chased the driver until he was able to take the vehicle, fleeing from the area.
Footage from the scene showed the man running through the parking lot and yanking open one of the stranger's car doors. The victim can then be seen running away from the car.
Police pursued the suspect until he came to a stop near Santiago Drive and Nottingham Road, where he bailed on foot and ran inside of a home -- which was under construction in the Dover Shores community. Police closed several roads surrounding the home to establish a search perimeter.
One neighbor, who was walking his dog when the suspect came to a stop, detailed the terrifying moments he was held at gunpoint.
"He says, 'Where's your keys, m-fer?,'" while holding the gun in his face. "He look at me and there was a pause, and it was at that moment that I thought, 'Huh, is this it?'"
A SWAT team, including their BearCat vehicle, were called to the scene to assist. Several police K-9 units were also on the scene to search the scene.
Just before 9 p.m., the suspect left the home and was taken into custody without further incident.
On Thursday, police identified the suspect as Costa Mesa resident Alfredo M. Hopgood-Otero, 26. He was charged with two counts of carjacking, five counts of assault with a firearm, and one count each for attempted carjacking, burglary, possession of a firearm by a felon, leading police on a chase and a prohibited person owning ammunition.
Hopgood-Otero was charged last year with a felony count of assault with a deadly weapon and single misdemeanor counts of brandishing a weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance. He was out on bail in that case when he was accused of the carjackings in Newport Beach Tuesday. He also pleaded guilty in July 2018 to robbery at an automatic teller with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon as well as misdemeanor counts of being under the influence of drugs, possession of a controlled substance and destroying or concealing evidence.
