An Oxnard resident has been charged with one count of carjacking and two counts of auto theft — one of which being the carjacking that occurred last month just outside Malibu. Twenty-three-year-old Eric Ramos was arrested by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department after wrecking one of the vehicles just before 1 a.m. on Dec. 17, according to a report published by CBS LA.
Deputies received a call on Dec. 16 that a carjacking had taken place on PCH, south of Yerba Buena Road in unincorporated Malibu. The victim reported a suspicious sedan pulled up directly behind him as he parked alongside the highway. The suspect approached the victim and, with force, removed him from the vehicle before speeding away. The abandoned sedan was later found to have matched the description of a stolen vehicle from the Oxnard area.
While searching for Ramos, deputies received a call from California Highway Patrol about a vehicle theft that took place near Wood Road and Hueneme Road. The victim reported that the suspect asked them for a ride before allegedly speeding off in the vehicle — leaving the victim behind. Ramos was later found walking near the Leone Valley area, after crashing and abandoning the second stolen vehicle.
Ramos was arrested and booked in the Ventura County Jail on Dec. 17, with bail set at $110,000. He was later released on Dec. 31, and is expected to appear in court on Jan. 6 at 1:30 p.m., Sgt. Denise Sliva with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department told The Malibu Times.