Carjackings Occur Twice Within Two Hours : Crime: Motorist in parking lot, deliveryman are victims in Costa Mesa. Neither is injured.

A pizza deliveryman and a man sitting in his car in a parking lot were victims of carjackings within two hours of each other, police said Wednesday.

The first incident occurred at 8:10 p.m. Tuesday when a 23-year-old man who had just delivered a pizza to an apartment in the 500 block of West 19th Street was confronted in the parking lot by two carjackers.

“One of the suspects waved a knife at the victim,” Officer Wayne Riedmann said.

The deliveryman surrendered the car without resistance and was not injured.

Police found the car about 10 minutes later crashed into a curb at the end of Terminal Way, a street located inside a commercial business area, Riedmann said.

The second incident occurred at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in the parking lot of the Mesa Verde Center, 2701 Harbor Blvd. A 36-year-old man sitting in his 1990 240 Nissan SX was approached by two men.

“One of the suspects held a gun on the victim through the passenger window while the other suspect ordered him out of his car or said he would be shot,” Riedmann said. “The victim complied and was forced to lie down on the ground while the suspects got into his car and drove off.” That car hasn’t been found, and no one has been arrested.

Police Capt. Tom Lazar said carjackings are rare in Costa Mesa, but he offered advice to potential victims:

“If you are in the position where you can’t get away, the safest thing to do is to do whatever they tell you to do,” he said. “It’s not worth it to lose your life over a car. Just give it up.”