INDIANAPOLIS -- Two people were arrested early Sunday morning after a reported carjacking involving a rideshare driver on the near north side of Indianapolis.
According to a post on Facebook by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, officers with the department's north district responded to the 3200 block of N. California Street on a report of an armed carjacking at around 12 a.m. on Sunday.
The intersection is on a one-block-long street wedged between I-70 and Crown Hill Cemetery where 32nd Street dead ends before Michigan Road. There are no houses on the corner, just vacant lots, and illumination from the only streetlight is blocked by leaves on trees.
When police arrived, a rideshare driver told officers he came to the area to pick up a customer. The customer, along with three others, got into his car and reportedly pointed handguns equipped with blue laser sights at him, demanding that he get out of the vehicle. The individuals then fled the area in his vehicle.
”What I can say is this driver in particular did the right thing,” IMPD Sgt. Anthony Patterson said. “You have to do everything you can to protect yourself, whether you’re a rideshare driver or just a regular citizen going about your business. If you’re ever a victim of the crime, do whatever the person is asking you to do. We never want you to try and be a hero. We don’t want you to try to stop someone with a gun by yourself. If you’re being asked to give that vehicle up, give that vehicle up.
The post said that the description of the vehicle, as well as the suspects, were broadcast on the radio. Two hours later, the vehicle was reportedly located on the north side of Indianapolis using automatic license plate readers in the 6200 block of Allisonville Road.
IMPD officers attempted a traffic stop on the vehicle. After the driver reportedly refused to stop, a brief vehicle pursuit occurred, which ended in the 4000 block of N. Keystone Avenue. One person, identified by police as a 17-year-old girl, stayed in the vehicle and was taken into custody, while "at least two other(s)... fled from the vehicle on foot."
One of the people who ran from the scene was apprehended by a K9 officer and his partner. The person, identified as a 16-year-old by IMPD, reportedly had a handgun when he was taken into custody. No others were located in the area.
”Our detectives did recover a gun from one of the individuals that was in the vehicle,” Patterson said. “That individual was only 16 years old. That’s troubling to us.”
The 16-year-old has been preliminarily charged with armed robbery, dangerous possession of a firearm and resisting law enforcement. Charges for the other person who was taken into custody were not provided.
The Marion County Prosecutor will determine if the teen will be tried as an adult.
There have been several carjackings and assaults of rideshare drivers in Indianapolis the past couple years, including a homicide.
”The rideshare driver did everything he was supposed to do,” Patterson said. “Gave them the vehicle but he also made that phone call to 911. Officers quickly arrived on the scene. We utilized license plate readers and were able to find those individuals within a couple hours of the victim calling 911.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the department's robbery office at (317) 327-3475.