Jan. 03--A 27-year-old San Jose man who was on the run from a minor jail sentence is in far more serious trouble Tuesday after he carjacked an elderly man, police said, and led officers on a chaotic chase during which he rammed the stolen sports utility vehicle into four patrol cars, sending one officer to the hospital.
About half an hour later, officers finally brought the broad daylight chase to a crunching end at the busy intersection of Alum Rock Road and McCreery Avenue when they used their cars to pin the stolen GMC between them. Then they used a Taser and restraining wrap to bring the struggling suspect into submission.
Last month, the suspect, identified as Alejandro Gonzalez, failed to show up to serve a weekend jail sentence and has had a warrant for his arrest since December 29, according to court records.
Sgt. Jason Dwyer said the injured veteran officer -- who was not identified Tuesday -- is expected to live, but was taken to a trauma unit about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. Several other officers were bruised and shaken, but none so far have been hospitalized, he said.
"There was a lot of opportunity to injure or kill innocent people today," Dwyer said, before commending his department on ending a potentially deadly situation with a minimal use of force and injury. "Our officers did a tremendous job with incredible skill."
It has been less than two weeks since the last high-profile carjacking chase. Late last month, a Milpitas
carjacking suspect crashed a vehicle while trying to elude police, carjacked another vehicle and then almost ran over a bunch of officers before escaping. Jarek Brown, 31, of San Jose, is still at large and considered armed and dangerous.
Tuesday's dangerous and dramatic police chase of the fleeing felon began at 11:23 a.m. Gonzalez approached a 68-year-old man at a gas station at McKee and King roads and demanded his GMC sports utility vehicle, police said. The men faced off and fought.
The suspect punched the victim in the nose, breaking it, and sped off in the SUV.
An officer who happened to be at that gas station witnessed the fight and called for backup.
The suspect drove off, and police say he rammed the stolen SUV into the back of a moving patrol car on McKee Road at the entrance of Interstate 680, just after noon. That officer was trapped inside his patrol car, and called for help. San Jose fire crews rushed to the scene to extricate the officer and take him to a trauma hospital. Police Chief Chris Moore went to the hospital to visit him, but the exact injuries have not been disclosed.
The suspect didn't stop.
Police say he drove southbound on Capitol Avenue, ramming the stolen vehicle into two more patrol cars stationed in the Gramercy neighborhood. At Alexander Avenue and Alum Rock Road, police say the suspect struck a fourth patrol car driven by an officer who had intervened when he spotted the suspect about to strike a family walking across the street, Dwyer said.
Minutes later, Dwyer said, three officers maneuvered their vehicles to box in the suspect's vehicle at the crowded intersection of Alum Rock Road and McCreery Avenue. The pileup lay the middle of the road until about 2:30 p.m.
Dwyer said an officer jumped on the hood of his police car and fired a Taser at the suspect while another officer smashed in window on the passenger side of the vehicle. Gonzalez still wouldn't surrender, police said, so they wrestled him, putting him a immobilizing restraint device caleld a "Wrap," finally taking him into custody.
Court records indicate Gonzalez has two previous felony convictions for having stolen property. His latest 19-day sentence after pleading guilty to petty theft with priors was scheduled to be served in weekend increments.
Now he could face solid years behind bars, if he is convicted of charges of carjacking and assault with a deadly weapon on a police police officer.
Staff writer Lisa Fernandez contributed to this report. Contact Sean Webby at 408-920-5003.
Copyright 2012 - San Jose Mercury News, Calif.
