Last Updated on December 5, 2018 by CCAR Staff
A Riverside police officer on Tuesday, Dec. 4, thwarted an attempted carjacking that injured the driver, the Police Department said.
Joseph Peppay Heaps, 29, of Moreno Valley, was arrested on suspicion of attempted carjacking, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest.
Before Tuesday, Heaps already faced a Dec. 28 court date to answer to a felony charge of receiving a stolen vehicle and misdemeanor charges of hit and run with property damage and petty theft, according to Riverside County Superior Court records. He has pleaded not guilty.
And Heaps was arrested last week on suspicion of resisting arrest, Riverside police Officer Ryan Railsback said. Heaps has not been charged with that crime.
Heaps also has an unspecified prior felony conviction.
Tuesday, just after 12:30 p.m, an employee of the Lowe’s home improvement store at 9851 Magnolia Ave. flagged down a motorcycle officer to report a theft. Just as the officer got off his bike, the suspect, later identified as Heaps, fled, and a foot pursuit began.
Heaps entered the passenger side of a car that was backing out of a parking space and ordered the occupant to drive off. When she refused, Railsback said, Heaps struck her. But the officer pulled Heaps from the car and arrested him with the help of an off-duty officer.
The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment of a broken arm.
“Our motor officer is grateful that he was at the right place at the right time, and we wish the victim a speedy recovery,” Railsback said.
