By Khalida Sarwari and Melissa McRobbie
San Jose police identified a carjacking suspect who rammed four patrol cars and injured several police officers while trying to evade capture today as 27-year-old Alejandro Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, of San Jose, was being sought on a warrant by police for failing to report to jail in December to serve a 19-day weekend sentence for a misdemeanor petty theft conviction, said Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Lisa McCrary. She said he has three prior convictions for petty theft.
The carjacking today was reported at 11:23 a.m. in the parking lot of a gas station at King and McKee roads.
There, Gonzalez allegedly punched a 68-year-old man in the nose and took his car, police spokesman Sgt. Jason Dwyer said.
As someone was reporting the carjacking to police, an officer happened to be pulling into the lot and witnessed Gonzalez fleeing, Dwyer said.
The officer broadcast a description of the car, a GMC Yukon SUV, and police began to chase Gonzalez, Dwyer said.
About a mile away, at around 12:06 p.m., near McKee Road and Interstate Highway 680, Gonzalez rammed a patrol car “so hard that the officer was injured pretty severely,” Dwyer said.
That officer was trapped in the car and had to be extricated before being taken to Regional Medical Center of San Jose, he said.
Gonzalez continued to flee and rammed two more police cars on North Capitol Avenue between McKee Road and Alum Rock Avenue before sideswiping a fourth patrol car on Alum Rock and Alexander avenues that an officer had used to protect a family walking across the street, Dwyer said.
Finally, near Alum Rock and McCreery avenues, officers used their patrol cars to block Gonzalez’s vehicle, Dwyer said.
Gonzalez refused to get out of the car and was still trying to drive away, so an officer fired a Taser through the car window, allowing police to take him into custody, police said.
He was taken to Regional Medical Center to be treated for his injuries.
Dwyer said several officers were wounded in the crashes but none suffered life-threatening injuries.
San Jose fire Capt. Mary Gutierrez said the carjacking victim and at least one police officer were taken to hospitals. Dwyer said the carjacking victim may have suffered a broken nose.
Dwyer said the suspect will likely be held on suspicion of carjacking and assault with a deadly weapon.
