Police Search Area for Man Who Used Fake Handgun in Carjacking

Police searched today for a man in his 20s who used a fake handgun to carjack a man in Rolando just minutes after failing to carjack a couple in the same area of San Diego.

The suspect walked up to a Mercedes that had just been parked at the Bank of America branch office at 6800 El Cajon Blvd. around 11 p.m. and threatened a 24-year-old man in the passenger seat with a plastic handgun, according to San Diego police Officer Dino Delimitros.

The passenger saw the gun was plastic and struggled with the suspect for control of it as a 33-year-old woman in the driver seat looked on, Delimitros said in a statement. The fake weapon broke in the process and the couple drove off uninjured.

About three minutes later, the suspect approached a 21-year-old man who had just parked his brown 1999 Mercury Cougar at 4900 67th Street and pushed the fake weapon against the driver's stomach, Delimitros said. Believing the weapon was real, the driver handed over his vehicle to the suspect.

The suspect was last seen driving off in the Mercury Cougar southbound on 67th Street, Delimitros said. He was described as white in his 20s with a thin build, wearing a blue bandana over his face, a dark sweatshirt and jeans.

The Cougar bears a personal license plate that reads, "PARISU."

—City News Service