Merced deputies seeking help identifying suspects in recent carjacking cases

Merced County sheriff’s detectives on Thursday issued a public warning and asked for information in connection with multiple carjackings that have been reported in recent months in the Winton-Atwater area.

Investigators believe the same two-man crew may be responsible for at least four armed robberies since January, Detective Chris Sziraki said.

The most recent robbery was reported last week, the investigator said Thursday.

“The suspects are targeting occupants in vehicles who are pulled over on the side of the road or are parked in orchards,” Sziraki said in a statement.

He said one man will stay in their vehicle, described as a red Honda sedan with a black bumper and a gray mid-sized truck, while the other man confronts the victims, armed with a gun.

The armed man has taken money and property and then driven away in the victims’ vehicle, with his partner following him away.

No injuries have been reported in any of the robberies.

“We urge the community to be aware of your surroundings and, if you have to pull over on the side of the road to utilize your cellphone or your vehicle is having mechanical issues, try and find a location, if possible, where you are in the public view,” deputies said.

Investigators said the robberies have occurred at apparently random locations in rural areas around Winton and the unincorporated part of Atwater. Deputies described the carjackings as “crimes of opportunity.”

“It appears that, when they see someone pulled over in an isolated area, they take that opportunity,” Sziraki said in a telephone interview.

The “main suspect” has been described as a “Hispanic male,” between 20 and 30 years old with a “thin build and short hair.”

A “white female” also was believed to have been involved in a carjacking in January, but not seen by witnesses in any of the subsequent carjackings, according to authorities.

This story was originally published April 13, 2017 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Merced deputies seeking help identifying suspects in recent carjacking cases."