Chula Vista Police were still looking for at least two men suspected of carjacking a vehicle while wearing fake police vests in the South Bay late Tuesday night.
Chula Vista Police Department responded to reports of a carjacking around midnight on Tuesday night near East J Street and Bolero Drive, near Southwestern College.
The victim said he was stopped in his car at an apartment complex entrance on East J Street when two white SUVs pulled up next to him and directed bright white lights into his car, Chula Vista police said.
Two suspects approached the victim wearing what he described as vests with the word “police” across the front and told him to exit his vehicle, a police report said.
"He said he was ordered to look down, so he never got a good look at him," Lt. Dan Peak said. The suspects ordered the victim around as if they were police, but never announced themselves as such, Peak added.
The victim believed the suspects had a firearm, so he complied with the suspects, got into their vehicle and was driven to Paseo Del Rey Park, where he was released unharmed. The vehicle remained missing as of Wednesday morning, according to the report.
The victim’s vehicle is a blue 2017 Renault Koleos with a Baja license plate, ARB319A.
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The suspects have not been identified and no further description was available.
The suspects could face charges of carjacking, kidnapping, impersonation of a police officer and auto theft, according to Lt. Peak.
People in the community told NBC 7 they were scared and shocked to hear the news. Police knocked on one woman's door Wednesday morning to try and learn more information about the incident.
“I’ve become aware. I’ve become more careful, 20-year resident Mina Cardona said.
Cardona said thieves have broken into her car and home, and stole her purse, wallet and bicycles at some point. Thieves once stole her Nissan Pathfinder, but she got it back stripped of interior seats and other features, two weeks later.
Lt. Peak said there was no actual increase in crime in the neighborhood, but said the community should be vigilant.
Anybody with information about Tuesday night's carjacking incident is asked to contact the Chula Vista Police Department at 619-691-5151.
