Man arrested after carjacking ice cream truck, leading wild chase, Sacramento deputies say

A man who carjacked two vehicles, including an ice cream truck, and led law enforcement on a car chase in Rancho Cordova was in custody Wednesday, according to Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office authorities.

The man, who has not yet been identified, was reported to police at 1:30 p.m. when he carjacked an ice cream truck in Rancho Cordova near Fitzgerald Road and Sunrise Boulevard, said Sgt. Tess Deterding, spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office.

The suspect fled down Sunrise Boulevard in the ice cream truck but later crashed in a ditch, she said.

A woman driving a black BMW saw the crash and pulled over to see if the driver was injured, said Dmitriy Ormanzhi, a motorist who captured part of the incident on video.

The man then carjacked the woman’s black BMW, Deterding said. Deputies were close enough that they verbally ordered the woman to walk toward deputies and away from her car as the suspect switched vehicles.

Ormanzhi said he stopped when he saw the crashed ice cream truck and the woman running down Douglas Road.

“I opened my window and saw this lady running, and she said, ‘He’s gone. He pointed a gun at my face and hijacked my car,’” Ormanzhi said in an interview with The Sacramento Bee.

The suspect continued to flee in the stolen BMW westbound on Douglas Road toward Zinfandel Drive, where he crashed into a red compact car, causing it to roll over. The occupant of the red car was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, Deterding said.

The suspect exited the gnarled BMW and ran into a field where a Sheriff’s Office helicopter located him, Deterding said.

Deterding said witnesses reported the man had a black handgun. SWAT team personnel were called to the scene and arrested the man in the field, she said.

He was transported to the hospital with minor injuries from the traffic collision, she said.

This story was originally published July 17, 2019 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Man arrested after carjacking ice cream truck, leading wild chase, Sacramento deputies say."