Female carjacking spree suspect sought in Orange County

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. (KABC) -- A search was underway in Orange County for an armed woman wanted in four carjackings or attempting carjackings.

Police said the crimes began in Irvine on Monday around 6 p.m.

The suspect, armed with a knife, tried unsuccessfully to carjack a woman as she sat in her car in a parking lot on 17000 block of Von Karman Avenue.

"In that case, the woman inside the car, her window was up and her door was locked. So she was unable to gain entry into the vehicle. The woman refused to comply with the suspect's demands, and that carjack didn't take place," said Cmdr. Julia Engen with the Irvine Police Department.

She then moved to another car and threatened a man with a knife. He handed over his Volvo S80.

Police say the suspect then dumped the Volvo near the offramp of the 73 Freeway and Fairview Road in Costa Mesa, then approached a 27-year-old man as he sat in traffic on the freeway.

Investigators say the suspect then used a knife to smash the driver's side window. The victim gave up his Prius.

Police found the Prius near a Tustin car wash, where she tried, but failed to carjack another woman.

The female victim says the suspect got angry when she refused to give her a ride outside a car wash in the 3090 block of Edinger Avenue in Tustin.

"She just flipped me out of my truck, hit me in the head, slammed me on my ground," the victim told a 911 operator.

"We heard a lot of commotion going on. Some screaming," said Julio Yepez, who was working nearby.

Yepez says the suspect was on top of the victim, who appeared to be in her 50s, and ran over to help. By the time he got there, the woman had fought off her attacker.

"I was able to beat her off," the victim said in her 911 call. The victim suffered non-life threatening injuries.

The suspect took off across the parking lot. She is described as a Hispanic female in her 20s, about 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighing approximately 130 pounds and wearing a navy blue hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

Anyone with information is asked to call Tustin Police at (714) 573-3250.