Milpitas police on Monday identified the man they say stole a marked patrol car before carjacking another vehicle last week.
The suspect, identified as Henrik Danni Baghdasarian, 34, of San Jose, allegedly pinched the car while a Milpitas officer was checking out a suspicious vehicle report on the 1500 block of Main Street.
While the officer walked to a van and looked for occupants, Baghdasarian climbed into and drove away with the marked police car, in the area of Oakland Road and Montague Expressway, near the Milpitas border, Lt. Raj Maharaj said.
The thief abandoned the patrol car on the 1600 block of Main Street in Milpitas then forced the driver of a 1997 Toyota RAV4 to give up her vehicle, police said. Baghdasarian then fled into San Jose.
Authorities were able to use GPS to recover the patrol, undamaged and with nothing missing from inside, authorities said.
Detectives obtained a warrant for Baghdasarian's arrest and, with the assistance of the Gilroy Police
Department, took Baghdasarian into custody without incident. The suspect, who has been booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail, is charged with carjacking and auto theft.
People with information about the incident are asked to call the Milpitas Police Department at (408) 586-2400. Information can also be given anonymously by calling the Crime Tip Hotline at (408) 586-2500 or via the Milpitas Police Department website.
