After High-Speed Chase, Carjacking Suspect Arrested
LANCASTER — A carjacking suspect was in custody Saturday after leading sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase before crashing into their patrol car, injuring the two deputies, neither seriously.
One of the deputies fired a shot at the suspect, Randy Vitolla, 33, but did not hit him, said Deputy Angie McLaughlin, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
The shooting occurred at 2 p.m. near 120th Street East and Avenue E in an unincorporated area of Lancaster after Vitolla posed as a customer at Antelope Valley Ford to steal a 1994 red Mustang, McLaughlin said.
Authorities said Vitolla ditched car salesman Keenan Rose during a test drive, then led deputies on a chase that reached speeds of up to 110 m.p.h. Deputies followed by car and helicopter, before Vitolla made a U-turn and crashed head-on into the patrol car.
Vitolla suffered only minor injuries, McLaughlin said, and was saved by the car’s air bag. One of the deputies, none of whom were identified, shot at Vitolla after he saw the suspect reach under the car’s passenger seat.
Vitolla was arrested on suspicion of robbery, grand theft auto, attempted murder of a peace officer and felony evading arrest.
Rose, the car salesman, said he became suspicious of Vitolla during a conversation as the suspect test-drove the car.
“When I took him for a test drive, he told me he had just been paroled from prison,†a seemingly unshaken Rose said late Saturday. “And I said, ‘It’s not a problem. We finance parolees.’ â€
But as the test drive ended, Rose, 31, of Lancaster, said Vitolla stopped in front of the dealership and ordered him to get out.
“I told him I ain’t getting out of the car,†said Rose, who has worked at the dealership for two months. “Then he tells me, ‘You misunderstood what I am saying. I am taking the car, now you can make it hard or easy.’ â€
Rose said he tried to reason with Vitolla, warning him that the car had little gas and that the car was not worth it. But Vitolla reached into his jacket and brought out a gym bag, telling Rose he had a gun inside it.
“I said, ‘Don’t do this. They are going to kill you,’ †Rose said. “He just said get out, and I did.â€
Rose said Vitolla was pleasant to him throughout the experience. “He was like any other customer,†Rose said. “He wanted a vehicle and he got it.â€
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