Young couple wounded after carjacking chase

SANTA ANA – Two people were wounded following a police chase that began with a Lojack activation of a carjacked vehicle.

Officers located the stolen car via Lojack at Bristol & Hesperian, near the 22 Freeway offramp.

The incident began with a carjacking in Anaheim, when the two suspects were said to have accosted a woman in a Toyota Camry at 6:50 on Tuesday morning, stealing the car. She was unharmed in the robbery, and reported the theft to police. The vehicle’s Lojack Stolen Vehicle Recovery System was activated, and by 11:15 in the morning, the car was located by the system in the area of Bristol Street and Hesperian Street by the Orange County Sheriffs.

The chase concluded near the corner of 18th and Alona, where the suspect crashed the stolen car.

According to a Santa Ana Police press release, the vehicle was located by officers on the 2200 block of North Pacific Avenue, and a stop was attempted. The couple in the vehicle fled the officers, and a pursuit began through the residential area. Near 18th Street and Alona Street, the stolen car crashed into two other vehicles and a tree. The couple in the car failed to surrender after the collision, and possibly fearing for their safety or that of nearby residents, one of the officers discharged his weapon, wounding the male suspect, 19-year-old Petrice Muntean. The female suspect, 20-year-old Karen Ensaldo, sustained only a laceration wound on her chin, probably from the crash. At this time, there is no indication of whether Muntean was armed at the time.

Muntean’s wound is considered non-life threatening, and after treatment, he and Ensaldo were booked on charges of robbery, possession of stolen property, and evading an officer.

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