LOWER LAKE, Calif. – A Brentwood man was taken into custody on Tuesday afternoon after he allegedly attempted to carjack a local woman and her son.
Daniel Samuel Delacruz, 48, was arrested on felony charges of carjacking and being a felon in possession of a weapon, and misdemeanor brandishing and public intoxication, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Matt Norton.
The weapon Delacruz had in his possession, said Norton, actually was a realistic-looking BB gun, a fact discovered after his arrest.
Norton said he was dispatched to a call about a Hispanic male in downtown Lower Lake who had a handgun tucked into his waistband – which he had reportedly shown to people in the area – and said he was going to rob the La Monarca market on Main Street.
While Norton was en route, Delacruz approached a Jeep Cherokee driven by Sherry Ramirez, who said she had arrived shortly after noon with her 14-year-old son Jay to deliver lunch to her daughter, who attends Zamora Christian Academy.
Ramirez said she first saw Delacruz on the corner by the La Monarca market, walking away from it. She was sitting in her vehicle on Lake Street while her son took her daughter's lunch in to the school, and Delacruz attempted to speak to the boy.
Delacruz then came back and started speaking to Ramirez through the passenger side window, asking for a ride, telling her he had just gotten out of the hospital and wanted to get to Walmart, where he planned to catch a bus to Ukiah.
She said no, and told her son to get back in the car. Delacruz then got into the vehicle's backseat.
“It all happened so fast,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez said Delacruz didn't brandish the BB gun at her, and she didn't know he had it until she heard bystander Dave Scott – who had seen Delacruz with the gun, which he believed to be real – yell, “He's got a gun.”
“At that point I was in complete shock,” she said.
While she doesn't remember telling Delacruz to get out of the car, Ramirez said her son told her afterward that she did just that.
Although it seemed much longer, Ramirez said her son estimated the whole incident lasted about 30 seconds by the time Norton got on scene.
When Norton arrived in town, he said he headed down Main Street and saw two people – one of them being Scott – pointing down Lake Street.
He turned the corner and came upon the Jeep Cherokee as it was about to pull out.
Norton said he got out of his patrol vehicle and began yelling commands. Ramirez said Norton pulled out his pistol and she and her son both jumped out of the vehicle and ran to safety.
When Norton arrived, he said Delacruz took the weapon out of his waistband and threw it into the backseat.
“It looks like a .45-caliber handgun,” said Norton. In fact, it was a black replica 1911 BB pistol.
During the stop and arrest, Delacruz “kind of resisted a little, but not too much,” said Norton.
Delacruz is a parolee with several convictions on his record, and told Norton he carries the BB gun around for protection.
While Delacruz didn't brandish the weapon at Ramirez or tell her he had it, he is alleged to have used fear and force to try to get Ramirez to drive him from the area. She told Norton she was afraid, and that use of fear, said Norton, constitutes carjacking.
Delacruz essentially jumped into the vehicle and told Ramirez to drive. “That's not cool,” said Norton.
Ramirez said she was shaken up by what she called a “surreal experience,” and grateful for Norton's arrival and quick actions.
On Tuesday evening she also found herself going through 100 different scenarios of how the incident could have played out.
Jail records posted late Tuesday showed that Delacruz also was being charged with a misdemeanor for openly displaying a replica weapon, and is being held without bail on a felony probation violation.
His booking sheet said he is due to appear in court on Thursday for arraignment.
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