Westchester Carjacking Suspect Booked, ID’d
Westchester Carjacking Suspect Booked, ID’d
by Contributing Editor
A suspected carjacker was in custody Friday after allegedly punching and kicking an 81-year-old woman before leading police on a chase from Westchester to the Mid-City area, where he drove on sidewalks, crashed into a police SUV and attempted to flee on foot.
Albert Johnson, 32, was booked for suspicion of felony hit-and-run and was being held on $235,000 bail and a previous warrant, according to Officer Drake Madison of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Section. He is listed as unemployed and his city of residence was not available.
The man allegedly used bodily force to steal a white sedan at a gas station at 7550 S. Sepulveda Blvd., said Sgt. Keith Hopkins of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Pacific Division.
The 81-year-old victim recounted the attack to Fox11.
“I was getting gas and the man came up and asked for a ride and I told him `No, no,’ and shouted at him,” the woman said. “He had undone my gas (cap) and was pounding on the car like, `Look, you left it open,’ so I got out to shut it and he punched me and kicked me.”
The woman, identified by NBC4 as Marlene Martin, fell to the ground and watched as the assailant drove off in her car.
Officers quickly located the man and pursued him to the Mid-City area, where he drove onto sidewalks several times to avoid capture. He also steered directly into a police SUV at Washington Boulevard near Westmoreland Avenue, police said.
No other injuries were immediately reported, Hopkins said.
“Fortunately, traffic wasn’t as bad as it normally is on a Thursday at this time,” Hopkins said.
Johnson repeatedly banged his head against the inside of a police vehicle, prompting authorities to call for paramedics, who took him to a hospital, Fox11 reported.
Wearing a large bandage on the right side of her face, where she had been punched, Martin said she was grateful officers were able to arrest the suspect.
“Very happy, so he can’t do this to anyone else,” she said.
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All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com
