Trio tries to carjack two vehicles

GLENDALE — A 23-year-old man was arrested early Saturday after he and two other men tried to carjack two motorists in Glendale and La Crescenta in the same night, police said.

The man, whose name wasn’t immediately released, and his accomplices allegedly approached a motorist early Saturday at Foothill Boulevard and Angeles Forest Highway in attempt to steal the car, said Sgt. Gary Ogurek of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station. The motorist may have seen a gun, he said.

Fearing that the trio would become violent, the motorist immediately drove through a red light and fled, he said.

That didn’t stop the trio, who then tried to carjack another motorist in Glendale, police said.

The motorist was stopped just after 1:30 a.m. Saturday at a red light at Verdugo Boulevard and the Glendale (2) Freeway off ramp when the trio walked up to the vehicle and brandished a handgun, Glendale police officials said.

The motorist fled before the trio could steal the vehicle, and then hailed down officers.

In similar cases, suspects who try to carjack motorists near freeway exits likely committed a crime and are looking for a getaway car, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

Police found three men who matched the suspects’ descriptions at the CVS Pharmacy parking lot at Verdugo and Valihi Way.

As police approached the men, two fled on foot, but they arrested one.

Police, including a sheriff’s police dog, searched the area for the suspects, but they were unable to find them, officials said.

Police later recovered the gun used in the carjacking attempts, officials said.