On July 4, 2012 at 7:20 p.m, officers from the Redding Police Department were dispatched to a carjacking that occurred in the parking lot of Hometown Buffet located at 1380 Churn Creek Road, Redding, California. The victim said two black males approached her while she was seated in her car.
One suspect pressed what the victim believed to be a gun, to her neck and demanded the vehicle. Out of fear, the victim got out and relinquished the vehicle to the suspects. The victim was identified as a 56-year-old woman from White City, Oregon. The passenger in the victim’s vehicle was her 82 year-old mother. The second suspect physically pulled the 82 year-old passenger from the vehicle.
The suspects fled in the stolen vehicle. Within two minutes, a Redding Police Officer spotted the stolen vehicle in the area of Cypress Avenue and Interstate 5. The suspect rammed the front of the officer’s patrol vehicle and fled south onto Interstate 5. The officer pursued the vehicle and the suspect vehicle intentionally rammed into a citizen’s vehicle while getting onto the interstate. The suspects led officers on a 16 mile high speed chase reaching speeds of close to 100 MPH. The suspect vehicle collided with a second citizen’s vehicle on Interstate 5 on the Cottonwood Creek Bridge, ending the pursuit. Both suspects were taken into custody without further incident. A search of the vehicle and surrounding area did not produce a firearm.
One citizen complained of pain as a result of the collision. This citizen was treated at the scene, but did not need to be transported to the hospital. The California Highway Patrol responded and assisted the Redding Police Department with the collision investigation.
It was learned after the pursuit that the same two suspects attempted to carjack a vehicle from another victim while in the parking lot of Movies 14 located at 980 Old Alturas. This was reported under Redding Police Department case #12-46227.
Both male suspects, ages 14 and 16, were runaway juveniles from a Redding group home. Both suspects are not from the Redding area. The suspects were booked into Shasta County Juvenile Hall for carjacking, conspiracy to commit a felony, felony evading, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, and elder abuse.
~ From Redding Police Department press release
