SAN DIEGO — A man followed a young woman into a secured parking lot, grabbed her phone and keys, and tried to drive off in her car Thursday, according to San Diego police.
It all started with an argument between the 41-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman near the parking lot on South 16th Street and Logan Avenue in Barrio Logan, officials said in a news release. Investigators didn’t specifically outline whether the man and woman knew each other prior to the attack.
Police say the man trailed the woman as she walked into the lot and that “he started to argue again as she got into her car and tried to drive away.” The man reached inside the car, swiped the woman’s phone and grabbed at her keys, breaking the key off inside the ignition.
“The victim got out of her car to try to get her phone and was trying to figure out the key,” police continued. The woman was able to get the phone back, but the man stepped inside her car and started to drive away.
He arrived at a closed gate to the parking lot, and several people who witnessed the struggle stepped in to stop him, police said. Officers arrived a short time later and arrested him.
Police identified the man suspected of the attack as 41-year-old David Sanders, saying he faces a carjacking charge.
Robbery detectives with the San Diego Police Department are now leading the investigation.
Anyone with information can contact San Diego County Crime Stoppers anonymously at 888-580-8477.