The Pinole Police Department announced the arrest of a Tennessee man in connection with a January 6 carjacking.
On Saturday, January 6th, at approximately 2:15 PM, Pinole Police officers responded to the 1500 block of Fitzgerald Drive on a report of a male subject lying on the ground between Best Buy and the former Kmart buildings.
Officers arrived and found a male with cuts and abrasions on his body. The victim told officers his car had been stolen from the Motel 6 parking lot, and he had been dragged across the street when the suspect fled in the vehicle. Officers requested medical assistance, and AMR paramedics treated the victim at the scene.
The victim told investigating officers that a subject that he met a few days earlier at Motel 6 had stolen his vehicle. When the victim reached into his car to try to stop the suspect, he was dragged by the vehicle. The victim eventually fell from the car, and the suspect fled east through the parking lot and was last seen via surveillance cameras southbound on Appian Way.
Two witnesses stopped, provided aid to the victim, and called 911.
The witnesses and victim provided officers with a description of the suspect, and the victim added that the suspect was wearing a brown Carhartt jacket and brown boots. Pinole Police Department Dispatch broadcast a “Be on the lookout” for the stolen vehicle to surrounding agencies, and at approximately 3:10 PM, a deputy with the Contra Costa Sherrif’s Office located the vehicle on San Pablo Dam Road near Milton Road.
When deputies attempted to stop the car, the suspect fled, and a pursuit ensued on surface streets through Richmond, El Cerrito, Albany, and Berkeley.
During the pursuit, the suspect ran several red lights and drove on the wrong side of the roadway for a short distance. The suspect eventually yielded to officers near the intersection of University Avenue and San Pablo Avenue and was safely taken into custody.
There were no collisions, and no one was injured during the pursuit. The suspect was wearing the same clothing when he was arrested as what the victim described he was wearing during the carjacking.
The suspect, Franklin Gyurnek, a 34-year-old male out of Tennessee, was booked at the Martinez Detention Facility for carjacking (PC 215(a)), assault with a deadly weapon (PC 245(a)(1)), and felony evading (VC 2800.2(a) and VC 2800.4).
We thank the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff, the San Pablo Police Department, and the Berkeley Police Department for their assistance. Anyone with information is urged to contact Officer Esparza by calling 510-724-1111
