El Paso police arrest man in McDonald's carjacking, chase

An El Paso man is accused of carjacking a woman at gunpoint outside a McDonald's restaurant before leading police on a 4-mile-long chase last week, officials said.

Miguel Angel Fuentes, 27, remained jailed Tuesday in connection with the carjacking June 7 at the McDonald's at 1515 Airway Blvd. near Montana Avenue, close to the El Paso International Airport, according to police and jail records.

The carjacking occurred shortly before midnight June 7 while a woman was sitting in the passenger seat of her boyfriend's Ford Crown Victoria while her boyfriend was out of the car, Assistant District Attorney John Briggs said at a teleconference bond hearing for Fuentes over the weekend.

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Fuentes is accused of walking up to the car and at gunpoint threatening to kill the woman and forcing her out of the car before taking the vehicle, Briggs said.

Police dispatched on a call of an aggravated robbery in progress arrived quickly and saw the car in the area, leading officers on the car chase, the prosecutor said.

During the chase, the car struck a couple of curbs and blew out one tire and then another on the same side before riding on rims with sparks coming out from underneath the chassis, Briggs said. The car eventually stopped and Fuentes allegedly ran off before being taken into custody.

Fuentes, of Central El Paso, was arrested on charges of aggravated robbery, evading arrest with a vehicle and evading arrest, according to police and jail records. He is being held at the El Paso County Jail Downtown under a total bond of $275,000.

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At a detention hearing Saturday, Magistrate Judge Tony Aun refused to lower the bond amount, citing the nature and circumstance of the crime and the defendant's prior criminal history.

Fuentes, who according to a jail log is also known by the nickname "Lucky," has served prison time on several burglary of habitation convictions about a decade ago, the prosecution said.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso police arrest man accused in McDonald's carjacking