DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – A 28-year-old man was arrested Tuesday after he carjacked a woman at gunpoint while she was pumping gas in Deerfield Beach, authorities said.
The armed carjacking was reported shortly before 2 a.m. at the Chevron gas station located at 1790 W. Hillsboro Blvd.
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According to the suspect’s arrest report, the victim was pumping gas into her white Volkswagen Jetta when she went over to a nearby patch of grass and began smoking a cigarette.
Police said Elias Orlando Caldoza, of Miami, who was wearing a black mask, then approached her, pointed a gun at her and demanded the keys to her car and her iPhone 14.
The victim told police that she asked Caldoza if he was joking and he then cocked the gun.
The woman said she was in fear for her life and handed over the items.
Caldoza then took off in the victim’s car, heading east on Hillsboro Boulevard, authorities said.
According to the arrest report, Margate police spotted the stolen vehicle and followed it until it crashed in the area of Sample Road and the Sawgrass Expressway.
Authorities said Caldoza got out of the car and fled on foot before being detained by Coral Springs police.
According to the report, Caldoza is currently on probation for auto theft and is listed as a “violent felony offender of special concern.”
Caldoza was arrested by the Broward Sheriff’s Office on charges of armed robbery/carjacking, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, violation of probation and wearing a mask while committing a felony.