Portland Man Identified As Suspect In Carjacking In Which Car Plunged Off Santa Cruz Cliff
DAVENPORT (CBS SF) -- A 56-year-old Portland man was being held Wednesday on carjacking, hit-and-run, illegal weapon and evading police charges stemming from a violent crime in Davenport that left guests terrified inside a restaurant.
The Santa Cruz Sheriff's Department said John Kenyanjui was being held in county jail on $100,000 bail.
Investigators were working with other local agencies to determine if he had any connection to similar crimes in the Bay Area.
At around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputies responded to the Davenport area after receiving a report of a man shooting a gun in the air near Waddell and Scotts Creek.
Sheriff's deputies soon arrived at the Roadhouse Restaurant near Highway 1. Witnesses told them the apparent carjacking happened when the armed suspect walked inside the restaurant. He fired several shots before carjacking a victim and fleeing with authorities in pursuit. No one was injured inside the restaurant.
"We heard an officer interviewing a lady in the restaurant about her car being stolen at gunpoint and another patron said that guy fired shots into the air," a witness who gave his name as Brad told KPIX 5.
A wild scene soon unfolded as the suspect fled the scene, driving north on Highway 1. He then turned around going back down south, leading authorities on a high-speed chase.
Deputies spotted the car driving on West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz when they say it went off the road and into the ocean. The suspect climbed up the steep hillside and was taken into custody. He was not injured in the crash.
