Crime & Safety
Arkansas Pair Arrested After Taco Bell Carjacking
Canine was used to detain parolee-at-large who evaded authorities.
A man and woman out of Arkansas were arrested Monday following a carjacking at Taco Bell that led to a car chase into the Yolo Bypass area.
The man, 34-year-old James Hammons, is being held at the Monroe Detention Center on six felony warrants and criminal charges from the carjacking incident. Sara Lee Mathews, 39, was also arrested for an outstanding "No bail" warrant out of Arkansas.
The chase started after a carjacking at the Taco Bell in East Davis. Prior to the carjacking, Davis Police ran the license plate on a car that was parked at a nearby Motel 6. That car came up stolen.
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The incident started at 1:30 p.m. when a Davis Police Officer checked the registration of a parked vehicle in the Motel 6 parking lot. While looking up the vehicle's status, a man nearby the vehicle saw the officer and fled on foot. Just moments later, the officer was flagged down on Chiles Road by people reporting a carjacking at Taco Bell, which is just west of Motel 6.
The officer spotted the victim's vehilce fleeing eastbound on Chile Road and a vehicle pursuit ensued, until the suspect drove into the Yolo Bypass area and south on a levee road, the police report. The suspect continued to elude law enforcement, and when officers found the victim's vehicle in the bypass area, it was unoccupied. a perimeter was established around a corn field where the man was last seen running.
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After searching about two hours, the CHP helpcopter spotted a man matching the carjacking suspect description lying in the corn field, the police report. He was eventually taken down by a police canine after not surrendering to law enforcement officials.
At about 7 p.m., while waiting to conduct a search of the suspect's room, Mathews allegedly tried to get in the room of the Motel 6 and was ultimately arrested for an outstanding "no bail' warrant out of Arkansas.
Hammons' warrants stem from charges including fraud, forgery, burglary, identity theft, and a fugitive from justice, according to the Davis Police Department.
