A 46-year-old man from San Bernardino County is in custody after a violent armed robbery and carjacking earlier this year, officials announced.
In a news release, officials with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said that on Jan. 7 just before 8 a.m., deputies responded to the 18000 block of Decker Road in Mead Valley on reports of the robbery.
At the scene, authorities located a victim who had been robbed and carjacked at gunpoint, while the suspect, now identified as Rialto resident Francisco Diaz, fled in the victim’s vehicle.
The victim’s vehicle, according to the release, was located a short time later.
RCSD’s Robbery-Burglary Suppression Team assumed the investigation and identified Diaz as a suspect.
Some two and a half months later, on March 31, officers with the Riverside Police Department spotted the 46-year-old and attempted to arrest him. A pursuit was initiated after Diaz was able to evade Riverside officers.
“The California Highway Patrol and the San Bernardino Police Department assisted in the pursuit,” authorities said. “The pursuit terminated in the City of San Bernardino, where Diaz was taken into custody.”
The 46-year-old was transferred into the custody of RCSD’s Robbery-Burglary Suppression Team and booked at the Cois Byrd Detention Center for robbery and carjacking.
An investigation in Diaz is ongoing and anyone with information is urged to contact Riverside County Sheriff’s Investigator Barbee at 951-776-1099 or the Perris Station at 951-210-1000.
