California Carjacker Thwarted: Vehicle’s Gear Shift Ruin’s Criminal’s Day

A California carjacker was thwarted when the vehicle he was trying to swipe had a stick shift. The suspect literally screwed up twice because he was caught before he actually tried stealing a car in Northern California.

Concord Police Lt. Tim Runyon tells Contra Costa Times that a man attempted an armed carjacking, but gave up when he couldn’t drive a stick shift.

It all began when the carjacker broke into the owner’s car Sunday morning and was caught in the passenger seat. The owner found the suspect inside the car in the middle of what appeared to be a burglary. Reacting quickly, the carjacking suspect aimed his gun at the owner and instructed him to drive to another location.

Just before the California carjacker’s efforts were thwarted, he ordered the owner to give him his money and forced him out of the car. Things didn’t go as planned for the criminal when he was unable to operate the car because of the gear shift. He apparently didn’t think about the possibility of the car being a manual transmission instead of an automatic one before picking it.

Police haven’t said whether the carjacker stole the victim’s money. California authorities didn’t capture the carjacker after his thwarted attempt to steal the car. He reportedly ran off on foot.

The carjacking suspect is described by police as being around 25 years old, approximately 5-foot-8 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds, and sports a thin mustache. He was wearing a loose-fitting white t-shirt, a black sweater with jeans, and had on a black hat.

Anyone with information on the carjacker is urged to call the Concord Police Investigations Bureau at 925-671-3030.

There are carjackers out there who can’t drive a stick shift. The Inquisitr wrote about a group of teenagers who were also thwarted in a carjacking back in Decemer because they were unable to operate a manual transmission.

The good news is these inexperienced carjackers don’t always get away with stealing vehicles. It seems almost humorous, but it’s a serious problem if they’re unable to escape and they’re caught in the act.

A similar carjacking to the California incident happened in New Jersey when the suspect couldn’t abscond because of the car’s gear shift. My Fox New York reports that the criminal was given a 55-month sentence for the armed and attempted carjacking of a Porsche.

The California carjacker thwarted is still on the run, evading capture by law enforcement.

[Photo Credit: Motor Trend]