A suspect arrested in connection with carjackings on Sunday and Monday was back in police custody Tuesday night following another attempt, after he was released for a second time.
Victoria police said the Tuesday arrest was made a short distance from a home in the North Jubilee area after a man was followed by the home’s occupant.
Police had been called about 7:30 p.m. by a bystander who said there was a theft in progress, and soon determined someone had entered a home while the occupant was inside and stolen a wallet.
While he was fleeing, the man attempted to get into an idling, occupied vehicle parked in the 1800-block of Fort Street, but the driver managed to fend him off.
Police caught up to him and arrested him in the 1900-block of Richardson Street.
On Sunday, police say, the man tried to steal an occupied vehicle in the 2900-block of Shelbourne Street and was arrested, and later released.
He was arrested again on Monday after he allegedly pushed Asha Makwana to the ground on Johnson Street, near Vancouver Street, then took off in her Tesla.
He then collided with a vehicle at Cedar Hill Road and Doncaster Drive before driving away and causing a second collision a few minutes later.
He abandoned the Tesla at Cook and Finlayson streets and attempted to steal yet another vehicle, but was stopped by bystanders. They stepped in to help when the vehicle’s owner called out as the man was getting into the driver’s seat.
Makwana said Wednesday that she is still in shock, and nursing a sore back and headaches from being pushed and falling onto the road.
She said she can’t believe the suspect in her case was back on the street and linked to another incident on Tuesday. “I’m so angry at the system, how they let this happen.”
Makwana said she is thankful no one has been seriously injured in any of the incidents. “Still, the trauma that these people are having to go through is just ridiculous.”
Makwana, who works in real estate, said the carjacking happened after she pulled over to take a picture of a commercial building she had noticed had a For Sale sign out front.
She said she put on her hazard lights and got out to take the picture while leaning on the car’s passenger side, and noticed a man approaching as she headed back to the driver’s side to get in.
Makwana assumed the man was about to cross the road, then he looked straight at her and walked quickly to the driver’s door. “I thought: ‘Oh my god, he’s getting in my car.’ ”
When she moved to try to stop him, he shoved her down, Makwana said.
“I got up from the ground and he was just gone,” she said. “I still can’t believe it happened. My life’s been a little bit turned upside down ever since.”
That evening, she saw the damage that been done to the car in the subsequent crashes. “The whole driver’s side is dented in,” Makwana said. “The hood is a little bit bent out of shape and I think one of my headlights popped out.”
She said her car locks automatically when she gets out, but the key mechanism is in her phone and she figures it sensed the car was close by and undid the lock, allowing the man to gain entry.
Victoria Police Chief Del Manak also said it’s a “miracle” no one has been seriously hurt in the string of incidents involving a single suspect.
Police will advocate for the suspect in this case to remain in custody, although that decision is ultimately up to the courts, Manak said, adding repeat offenders put a significant strain on police resources and pose a risk to community safety.
The man is being held in custody for his next court appearance.
His charges from Sunday and Monday include one count of attempted theft of a motor vehicle, two counts of robbery, one count of theft of a motor vehicle, one count of failing to stop at the scene of an accident and one count of failing to comply with conditions.
Charges from the Tuesday incident include breaking-and entering, attempted robbery and attempted theft of a motor vehicle.
