News Story 4

The Carjacker


A honeymoon night is a night to remember, especially when your car gets stolen when you are in it. This is exactly what happened on Saturday night when a 22 year old bride who was still in her wedding dress had a man jump in her car and try to steal it. 21- year old -Alan Ticas- Soto is now facing felony carjacking charges and misdemeanor drug charges; apparently he was high on methamphetamines at the time of the carjacking. He is being held in the San Mateo County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. Ticas-Soto does not have a criminal record. He pleaded not guilty in San Mateo Superior Court on Monday.

The newly married couple, whose names were not released, was planning to spend their wedding night at a nearby Embassy Suites. The newlyweds had stopped off for a late night snack at the Taco Bell on East Fourth Avenue in San Mateo for a late-night on their way to the hotel, when the groom got out of the car, a 2003 Nissan Altima, and left the engine running. His new wife stayed in the car while he headed toward the restaurant. Police said the groom hadn't even gotten inside the restaurant when Ticas-Soto ran through the parking lot and leaped in the idling car. However the police said he didn't get very far. First, he hard a hard time getting the car into reverse, and had to fiddle with the gear shift a bit before getting it into gear. Ticas-Soto was distracted by the screams of the bride in the passenger seat, she was frantically trying to unbuckle her seat belt and get away from him. The groom then saw what was happening and he ran back and opened the passenger-side door, trying to help his wife get out of the car. She finally tumbled out, landing on the parking lot. She was unhurt, though shaken. Ticas-Soto put the car into a forward gear and promptly smashed into a Taco Bell sign, according to the police. He leaped out of the car and ran away. In the meantime, witnesses called the police.

Patrolling nearby, police officer Brendan Boyle noticed a man matching the suspect's description. The man was running southbound on South Delaware Street at Ninth Avenue. Boyle called it in and patrol cars converged on the scene. They caught Ticas-Soto and arrested him without incident. Police say he told them that he'd been taking methamphetamines for three straight days.

Sheryl Wolcott, a San Mateo County deputy district attorney stated that the couple was not injured in the incident but, “This took them a little off-track." There is still no attorney that has yet been assigned to Ticas-Soto's case by the county private defender program. If he's found guilty, Ticas-Soto could face up to nine years in state prison for the carjacking. Wolcott stated that a preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for May 10.