Crime & Safety
Update: Carjacking Suspect Located in Half Moon Bay, High School on Lockdown
A man in a stolen car from Oakland runs from police and carjacks a woman in Half Moon Bay.
A man in a stolen car who fled from San Mateo County sheriff's deputies Thursday morning eluded authorities after he carjacked a woman in Half Moon Bay, sheriff's officials said.
Around 7 a.m. the sheriff's office received a 911 call of a person driving recklessly on westbound state Highway 92 approaching the city limits of Half Moon Bay, according to the sheriff's office.
The caller described the vehicle as a magenta colored Dodge or Camaro and provided the license plate number. Deputies determined the car, a red 2006 Dodge Charger, had been stolen Wednesday night out of Oakland.
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Sheriff's deputies found the vehicle pulled over at the Shell gas station near Highway 92 and Main Street in Half Moon Bay.
The driver, and only person in the car, got out of the car and when he saw a deputy, ran into the cemetery on the north side of Highway 92.
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The deputy chased after the suspect but since it was dark the suspect got away.
The deputy also deployed a police dog to track down the suspect who had run near the Hilltop Mobile Home Park, east of the cemetery.
As a precaution during the suspect search, Half Moon Bay High School, located at 1 Lewis Foster Drive, was ordered to lock down, as were residents in the immediate area, officials said.
Around 7:40 a.m. a female reported she had been carjacked near the parking lot at the Hilltop Mobile Home Park.
She said the suspect forced her to drive him to San Mateo, which she did.
The suspect got out of her car in the 600 block of Concar Drive in San Mateo and ran away.
San Mateo police also responded to the area and searched for the suspect for hours, but the man was not found. Additional personnel from the Sheriff’s Office Transit Unit responded to check the trains and buses in the area for the suspect but did not locate him either, sheriff's officials said.
The carjacking victim was not hurt in the incident, officials said.
Once the suspect was determined to have left the Half Moon Bay area, the lockdowns were lifted at the school and in the neighborhood, officials said.
The suspect is described as a Hispanic man in his early 20s standing about 6 feet tall with a thin build, dark hair and wearing all dark clothing.
Any person who may have witnessed this crime or has information regarding the identity of the suspect is asked to contact Detective Hector Acosta at 650-363-4064/e-mail hacosta@smcgov.org or Det. John Sebring at 650-363-4057/email jsebring@smcgov.org
You may also remain anonymous by calling the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Anonymous Tip Line at 1-800-547-2700.
----Originally posted at 8:05 a.m., this story was updated with some additional information from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office at 2:15 p.m.:
A carjacking suspect out of Oakland was located in Half Moon Bay early Thursday morning, according to police.
The man abandoned the car near the cemetery on Highway 92 at Main Street, fleeing into the Hilltop Mobile Home Park, said San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Dep. Rebecca Rosenblatt.
Half Moon Bay High School (HMBHS) officials and law enforcement placed the nearby school campus on lockdown for about 30 minutes while police searched the area for the suspect.
The suspect, assumed to be armed, carjacked another car out of the Hilltop Mobile Home Park with a female victim inside and fled to San Mateo where he ran from the vehicle near Delaware, leaving the carjacked victim behind, according to police.
The suspect is no longer in Half Moon Bay, said Rosenblatt. It is unknown at this time if the suspect has been apprehended.
In a letter later sent to HMBHS staff, students, parents, and community members, high school principal Allison Silvestri explains that at about 7:10 a.m. this morning, the Sheriff's Department contacted the front office at Half Moon Bay High School and instructed them to lock down the school.
Students who were early to school for the zero period before the lockdown were told to stay in the gym. Others were turned away at the entrance on Lewis Foster Drive by an officer and ended up waiting at local coffee shops until receiving word that the campus was open again.
The school was locked down for about 30 minutes. By 7:45 a.m. the Sheriff's Office lifted the lockdown.
"I am grateful to the staff and members of the district office for acting swiftly and helping to secure the campus," said Silvestri in the letter to the school community. "As a team, we had all students and staff safe and locked down within minutes of the notification by the Sherriff’s Department. The students responded quickly to adult directives and acted responsibly throughout the length of the lockdown. Due to drills and diligence, we were well prepared to respond to this incident today."
Patch will update this story when more information becomes available.
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