(KRON) — A motorhome that was allegedly carjacked last week has been returned to its owner and a suspect, 27-year-old Omar Alexis Romero Perez of East Palo Alto, has been arrested, the Palo Alto Police Department announced Thursday. The alleged carjacking occurred overnight on Friday, Oct 20 at about 12:35 a.m.
Palo Alto PD got a call reporting a carjacking on the 400 block of Matadero Avenue. At the scene, officers were unable to locate the suspect.
A preliminary investigation revealed that a man in his sixties had been asleep in his parked vehicle when he awoke to the sound of his motorhome’s engine starting. The man saw the suspect, later identified as Perez, seated in the motorhome’s driver’s seat and climbed the side step to confront him.
A struggle ensued and the victim fell down the driver’s side step as the suspect drove the motorhome away, police said.
On Wednesday shortly before 11 a.m., East Palo Alto PD officers saw the stolen motorhome near Ravenswood Shopping Center. They stopped the vehicle on Wilks Street at Gates Street in East Palo Alto.
Perez and a female passenger were detained without incident, police said. Palo Alto PD detectives were notified.
A subsequent investigation revealed that Perez was the suspect who had carjacked the motorhome. The woman riding alongside him was not involved and was later released, police said.
Palo Alto PD detectives took custody of the suspect and returned the motorhome to the victim.
Perez was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for carjacking and elder abuse — the victim was over 65 years old. Both charges are felonies.
