Two boys believed to be armed with a handgun forcibly carjacked a Desert Sands Unified School District employee recently only to be apprehended after a police pursuit, NBC Palm Springs reported.
The employee was not injured as the two juvenile males forcibly took their vehicle in the parking lot of Herbert Hoover Elementary school on Monroe Street at approximately 6 a.m. Tuesday. The worker had just exited their vehicle when the carjacking took place and they suspected the boys had a gun, the report said. The initial investigation was based on the suspicion that the boys were armed.
In the thick of the Indio police investigation, a patrol officer caught sight of the stolen vehicle at Hoover Avenue and Sun Gold Street in Indio and attempted a traffic stop. When the driver refused to pull over, a police pursuit ensued that led into the City of Coachella. Eventually the driver oversteered during a turn and ran off the road into a dirt field, coming to rest west of Cesar Chavez Street between avenues 53 and 54, the report said.
Both individuals were apprehended. Contrary to earlier beliefs, the pair did not have a weapon.
The driver has since been booked into the Juvenile Hall facility in Indio on felony charges of carjacking and failure to yield. Meanwhile, the passenger has been released from police custody to their parent/guardian pending further investigation.
Residents can help police close the case by forwarding any further information they may have to the Indio Police Department at 760-391-4051. Alternatively, those who wish to remain anonymous can contact Valley Crime Stoppers at 760-341-STOP (7867).