Carjacked Vehicle Turns Up In Irvine – 2 Arrested

IRVINE, CA (April 20, 2009) – Two men were taken into custody early Friday after police pulled them over in a car that had reportedly been carjacked.

Fernando Medrano, 21, and Daniel Castanon, 18, both of Santa Ana, were stopped near Walnut Avenue and Yale around 3:30 am after a patrolling officer saw them make an illegal u-turn. As the car stopped, however, and the officer attempted to initiate contact, both men bailed from the vehicle and ran.

According to police, the two took off in different directions, climbing over walls and running through people’s yards in an attempt to elude police.

The search that followed involved several backup units, an Irvine Police K-9 unit, a Tustin Police K-9 unit and an Orange County Sheriff’s helicopter.

The two men were eventually found hiding in different yards and subsequently arrested.

The vehicle the two had been riding in was reportedly stolen at gunpoint during a carjacking in Santa Ana earlier in the week and Medrano and Castanon are considered suspects in the carjacking, according to police.