A cellphone tracking app helped catch a suspected robber and carjacker in Santa Ana, police said Friday.
A man told police he was sleeping in a 1997 Honda CR-V in the 1600 block of North Susan Street, when he awoke around 7 a.m. to find an armed man, wearing a hoodie and mask, on a bicycle outside his car, said Sgt. Michael Claborne of the Santa Ana Police Department.
The man demanded the keys to the vehicle and the man’s iPhone. The victim gave up the items, and perpetrator threw his beach cruiser atop the vehicle and drove off, a police statement said.
Using a GPS tracking app, the victim told police within an hour of the carjacking that the phone was somewhere between Bristol and Flower streets. When officers arrived, the vehicle was gone and the phone was turned off, Claborne said.
Around 8:30 a.m., the phone was turned on and the owner tracked its location to a parking lot in the 4300 block of West First Street. Officers spotted the CR-V and saw Matthew Jacob Granados, 20, of Santa Ana get in the vehicle a few minutes later and drive off.
Police followed and conducted a traffic stop and Granados was detained. The victim was brought to the scene and identified Granados as the carjacker, police said. The man’s phone was found in the vehicle, but a handgun wasn’t.
Detectives believe Granados may be responsible for robberies along the Santa Ana River bed and the west end of the city, according to a police statement.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact SAPD Robbery Detective Andy Garcia at 714-245-8408 or Orange County Crime Stoppers 855-TIP-OCCS.
Contact the writer: 714-796-2478 or [email protected]
Original Post Credit: ocregister.com