Modesto Man Arrested for Carjacking Elderly Victim in Palm Springs

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PALM SPRINGS, Ca. – A 29-year-old Modesto man was arrested in the City of Desert Hot Springs after a carjacking and high-speed chase on Saturday.

Palm Springs Police said that at around 4:55 p.m. dispatchers received a call reporting a carjacking in the parking lot in the 400 block of South Sunrise Way. When they arrived they learned that the elderly female victim was sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle as it warmed up. The driver of the vehicle had temporarily stepped away from the vehicle. The suspect, later identified as Michael Mitchell, 29, of Modesto, got into the vehicle through the unlocked driver’s-side door and demanded that the passenger got out or she would be shot.

The victim yelled for help while grabbing her purse but was pushed down to the pavement by the suspect as he drove away in the stolen vehicle.The suspect was located in the city of Hemet and after a high-speed pursuit, was stopped in order to take him into custody. Mitchell was booked at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning for carjacking, robbery, elder abuse, evading police officer, vehicle theft, and possession of stolen property.