Carjackings rise in Stockton since last month, victim of brutal attack wants others warned
STOCKTON -- Following a string of brazen carjackings in Stockton, one victim came forward to CBS13 to share her story with the hope that other women stay vigilant.
Twice in fewer than two weeks, a woman alone walking to or from her car has been attacked by a suspect trying to steal it. A victim named Sariyah, who asked CBS13 not to reveal her last name, was one of them.
She was attacked on January 18 as a man got violent during the attempted carjacking on East Main Street.
On January 28, another woman was shoved to the ground when she got out of her car as the man successfully drove away in it on Shasta Ave.
In both cases, the male suspects were later arrested, but it is a trend that is up slightly across Stockton this month. Sariyah says people need to be more aware that this is happening.
She proudly showed CBS13 the tattoo on her hand that reads "fearless" while recounting her story.
"When I look at this, I think of what happened and how I didn't let him have the power to do what he wanted," she said.
Sariyah exemplified the meaning of fearless when she was leaving her job as a nail technician on the evening of January 18.
Just outside the Bob Hope Theatre, she walked to where her car was parked on the street around 8:30 p.m. and noticed a man staring at her from the street corner. The man approached her and asked if she had any clothes she could donate to him before he walked back down the street.
She felt it was strange but quickly continued to grab things she needed from the backseat before heading home.
"I'm reaching all the way down into my seat and something just tells me to turn around, and this man just jumps on me," Sariyah said. "I felt like my life flashed before my eyes. I literally thought was going to die."
She said the large man towering more than 6 feet tall was pushing her down in the car as he tried to strangle her with a large utility belt. He was struggling to get it around her neck.
"I'm thinking, I can't go out like that. I'm not going out like that. That's not going to be the end of my story. You know?" Sariyah said.
She fought back, pinned underneath him in the backseat. She was able to kick him in the neck and face as she struggled. The man even bit her arm.
Sariyah slid across the backseat of her car, opened the back passenger door and escaped to the street. The man ripped her shirt off and hit her in the face with the belt buckle in the process.
"I was really screaming, 'Help, somebody, I don't know if he is trying to kill me,' screaming all these things," said Sariyah.
No one came to her aid, but Sariyah says someone called 911 on her behalf.
Free of his grasp, Sariyah says the man started to take off in her car. That's when she confronted him in the driver's seat, grabbed the keys from the ignition and took them. Sariyah said the man then grabbed her purse and simply walked down the street after the violent attack. She said that he sat down in the grass near the city's probation office and didn't even run.
Stockton police were at the scene minutes later and arrested 53-year-old Christopher Bennett for alleged assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, robbery, and carjacking.
It happened just two blocks from the police station.
"Now I don't feel safe for me or my clients," said Sariyah, who has worked downtown for three years.
Breaking down the numbers for the past two months, Stockton police report there were at least 11 carjackings or attempted carjackings in January.
There were nine reported in December.
Additionally, in the same period, there were at least another eight reports of people who were robbed of their personal property either at their vehicles or walking to and from their vehicles across Stockton.
"Be aware of your surroundings, make sure your doors are locked if you are sitting in your car. Don't be in places with no traffic like I was," said Sariyah.
Stockton police shared tips with CBS13 about what to do if someone approaches you trying to steal your car or property:
- Park in well-lit places
- Try to carpool and walk in groups
- Stay alert by watching for anyone that could be following you or acting abnormally
- Avoid all distractions when approaching the car, like checking a cell phone
- Have the car keys already in hand
- Don't unlock the vehicle from far away, this shows anyone watching exactly where you are going
- Use tools like pepper spray in case of an attack
- Report any crime to the police and be a good witness
"Your safety is paramount and your life is more important," a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department said in a statement to CBS13. "Although frustrating and a major inconvenience, having your property stolen or taken, it can all be replaced. Life is most important. Following commands and avoiding the escalation of the criminal activity to avoid them harming you."
Sariyah now has a taser in her purse and encourages other women to arm themselves with something for their safety.
"Just something to protect yourself anything in any way shape or form," she said.
