arizona news
Has been updated: March 9, 2023 at 10:40 am
(Facebook/Yuma Police Department)
PHOENIX — A man who allegedly carjacked three vehicles, including a large water truck, died Wednesday afternoon in Yuma, after multiple agencies tracked him down, officials said.
Alfredo Panduro Zendejas, 44, was pronounced dead after the car he was driving collided with a semi-truck at an intersection, according to the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office.
No other injuries were reported.
Earlier in the day, the man allegedly stole two cars.
The first was a water truck, which was reported stolen to the sheriff’s office at about 7:45 am. The suspect also allegedly stole two firearms.
At approximately 9:12 am, the Yuma Police Department received a report of an attempted carjacking. The suspect threatened the 45-year-old woman with a gun and tried to rob her car, but the engine would not start. The man escaped in a water truck.
Later, around 10 a.m., the man allegedly threatened the woman with a gun, took the purple Acura from the Arizona Western College parking lot, and drove off.
Around 4:00 pm, police began chasing Acura. The suspect eventually abandoned it and fled on foot. Suspected of shooting a police car while driving.
The man then allegedly threatened a woman in her 70s with a gun and carjacked another vehicle, a small silver car. The suspect fired two shots at him near the driver and passenger. they were not injured.
Police resumed their pursuit of the man back on the street through the Palms Regional Center Mall.The chase ended at County 15th Street and Avenue 3E.
Officers from the Somerton Police Department, Department of Public Safety, Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Patrol Air and Marine Corps, U.S. Border Patrol, and U.S. Marshals Service assisted in the case.
Yuma Police recommends that anyone with information about the incident remain anonymous and call 928-373-4700 or 928-782-7463.
