A carjacking suspect was arrested after a large law enforcement response and search Sunday night in Thousand Oaks and Moorpark.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call in the 700 block of Avenida de los Arboles in Thousand Oaks shortly after 9:30 p.m. The driver of a Jeep Wrangler reported that a man, who said he had a gun, demanded the keys to the vehicle, said sheriff’s Capt. Nick Odenath. The area is just north of Thousand Oaks High School.
The sheriff’s office is contracted for police services for the cities of Thousand Oaks and Moorpark.
The suspect left with the Jeep Wrangler, and local law enforcement began their search. The California Highway Patrol found the Jeep stopped but empty in the area of Los Angeles Avenue and Highway 118 in Moorpark 20 minutes after the incident was reported, Odenath said.
Additional sheriff’s deputies and SWAT units were contacted to assist with the search, the captain said.
A 30-year-old man was ultimately located an hour later hiding in the brush nearby, Odenath said. The man was arrested on suspicion of felony carjacking and booked into Ventura County jail. No gun was found during his arrest, the captain said.
As of Monday morning, the man remained in jail with bail set at $250,000. He is scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court Wednesday, jail records show.
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Search for Thousand Oaks carjacking suspect ends with 1 arrest
Reporting by Ernesto Centeno Araujo, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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