A brazen daylight auto burglary turned violent on Friday morning in Hercules.
Police say the incident involved one man dangling out the window of a moving car trying to stop a suspected thief.
KRON4 spoke with police in Hercules who are asking for the public’s help to find the wanted suspect.
At 8:30 a.m. Friday morning in Hercules, in the parking lot of a shopping complex that is off Willow Avenue right off Highway 80, police say a Hispanic man wearing a gray sweatshirt broke into a truck and stole a man’s backpack containing a cell phone.
Police say the owner of the truck broken into witnessed the crime and chased after the suspect.
The suspect, police say, got into a grayish/blue Mercedes. Before he could take off, the victim of the auto break-in jumped into the car through the driver-side window to try and stop the suspect from taking off.
Police say the suspect drove off with the man dangling halfway out of his car. This distracted driving caused the suspect to run into an occupied car.
The victim driving that car was treated with minor injuries.
“And as the suspect fled the shopping complex, the victim fell from the car,” Officer Greg Sanchez said.
Police say the suspect ran over the victim’s ankle after he dropped from the window. The unidentified victim suffered minor injuries.
Police say the suspect got away, but police say the car now has significant front-end damage, so they are hoping an auto body shop or anyone watching will recognize the car and call them.
Police say not to do what the victim did in this case.
“Call us,” Sanchez said. “Don’t try to stop people yourself.”