Carjacking Suspect Arrested After Attack on Woman Driver

SAN JOSE -Justin David Johnson, 25, has been charged with carjacking under PC 215 that occurred on April 22, 2013.  During the attack, Johnson had used force to take another person’s property under PC 211-212.5(c).

suspect drawing

Johnson was also convicted under PC 148.10 when he had violently resisted arrest, subsequently causing injury to an officer  under PC 1192.7 (c) and PC 667.5(c).

He was lying on the grass near Tasman Dr. and Champion Ct. in San Jose near where a driver had stopped for a stoplight in the early commute hours on their way to work, when suddenly Johnson opened the victim’s passenger side door and sat in the passenger seat.

The victim yelled, “What are you doing?” The suspect just said, “Give me your cell phone!”

He un-belted the driver and almost sat on top of the victim in his attempt to nab the cell phone. Panicking, the victim opened the driver side door and fell out skinning her knees because she had forgotten to put the vehicle in park. However, she had other property in the back seat, and was able to react quickly by opening the side door and retrieve her laptop and purse before the suspect was able to drive away.

The vehicle was recovered at 1257 Tasman drive in Sunnyvale, California a few days later when a janitorial staff reported they had found a Gray Honda Minivan with the door open abandoned in the parking lot. The victim’s cell phone was also left in the vehicle.

Investigating officers talked to several witnesses at the scene however they were unable to identify the suspect. In working with the victim a photograph line-up was developed based on a drawing using the victim’s description of the suspect.

suspect drawing 2

A “Be On the Lookout”/ or B.O.L. was also issued for the stolen vehicle and suspect at the time of the incidence, however officers were unable to locate the suspect or vehicle.

The victim had never seen the suspect before and thought that he may have been a transient.

When the photo line-up was complete by officers on May 10, 2013 the victim was able to identify Johnson as the suspect in the carjacking. The victim stated, “I recognized his face the redness of it, his curly hair.”

She remembers asking him to leave, however he had refused leaving her feeling defenseless and with little options but to abandon her vehicle with the keys still in the ignition.

The next court hearing scheduled for this case is to be held on June 14 at 9:00 am in Dept. 35.

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