Four youths arrested in alleged armed carjackings in La Quinta and Palm Desert
Two 18-year-old men have been arrested in an armed carjacking in La Quinta, along with two 16-year-old boys who also were allegedly involved in a second armed carjacking in Palm Desert the same day.
The 18-year-olds, residents of Coachella and Palm Desert, were arrested Tuesday morning on suspicion of carjacking, assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit a crime, according to inmate records.
The unidentified juveniles, Cathedral City and Thousand Palms residents, were arrested later that night on suspicion of carjacking, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats and illegally possessing firearms, according to Sgt. Josh Button of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
Deputies responded at around 12:40 a.m. Tuesday to the 47700 block of Dune Palms Road in La Quinta to a report of a 75-year-old woman whose vehicle was stolen, according to Sgt. David Aldrich of the sheriff's department. She was approached by two male subjects, one who demanded her vehicle, a black Camaro, and her purse while armed with a semi-automatic firearm, authorities said. She was not injured.
The suspects fled westbound on Highway 111 in her Camaro and a white Lincoln sedan, which were seen by patrol deputies later that morning driving northbound on Village Court in Indian Wells, Aldrich said.
When deputies attempted to stop the vehicles in the 44600 block of Village Court, "the Camaro failed to yield and fled westbound on Highway 111, (and) the Lincoln rammed a sheriff's patrol unit, disabling both vehicles,"
Aldrich said in a statement. "The suspects fled into the nearby residential area."
Patrol units set a perimeter in the area so the Riverside County Special Enforcement Bureau could conduct a yard-to-yard search, according to Aldrich. The two suspects were found in the 74900 block of Verbena Drive by around 7 a.m. and were taken into custody without incident. They were both booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio, where they remained held on $60,000 bail.
The Thermal Sheriff's Station Special Investigations Unit subsequently identified the two teens as outstanding suspects before they were arrested later that day in a separate carjacking, Aldrich said.
Button said deputies responded at around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to the 34000 block of Monterey Avenue in Palm Desert, where a 21-year-old Coachella resident was attempting to sell his vehicle on social media and had set to meet with one teen who responded to his ad when two teens showed up and demanded his keys.
"When the victim refused, both suspects produced firearms,'' Button said in a statement. "One suspect struck the victim several times, threatened to kill him, and again demanded his keys.''
The man was taken to a hospital with moderate injuries, but has since been treated and released, according to Button.
The teens fled in the vehicle, but quickly left it behind near the 74000 block of Jeri Lane in Palm Desert, where two firearms were found, according to Button. The teens allegedly fled on foot and were arrested shortly afterward near Gerald Ford Drive and Shepard Lane. They were both booked into juvenile hall.
Anyone with information about the alleged carjackings was asked to call Investigator Glasper of the Thermal sheriff's station at 760-863-8950 or Valley Crime Stoppers anonymously at 760-341-7867.
