Salinas Man's Car Stolen at Carwash

SALINAS—The Salinas Police Department arrested Esteven Sanchez Regalado, 19, of Salinas after he was found in possession of stolen property.

Esteban Sanchez Regalado

The incident started on Tuesday when a man was washing his car at a self-wash carwash on the 1000 Block of Alisal Street.  Regalado approached the man and demanded the victim’s wallet and car keys.

The victim complied with his demands as he stared down the barrel of a large black semi-automatic handgun.  The car, a white 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe with license plate 6KRW072 was last seen driving south bound on Alisal Street towards Eucalyptus Drive.

“Several witnesses to the crime provided us detailed information on the suspect’s description,” Officer Miguel Cabrera of the Salinas Police Department said. “The information was given to other officers and a  ‘Be on the Lookout’ (BOL) in placed.”

The detailed information given by the witnesses proved to be invaluable.  The next day at around 9:23 p.m. an officer on routine patrol in the area of North Salinas on the other side of town spotted the stolen vehicle parked on Adams Street with a person still inside the vehicle.

“We proceeded to approach the vehicle using ‘high risk’ stop procedures and took Regalado into custody without incident,” Officer Cabrera said, adding, “He was positively identified by the victim and some of the witnesses as the person who committed the crime.”

“We were unable to recover the handgun used in the robbery as it was not in the vehicle at the time of the arrest,” Officer Cabrera also stated.

Regalado was taken to the Monterey County Jail and booked on armed robbery and carjacking charges.

Read More:

The Californian: Arrest in Salinas Carjacking and Robbery