A 20-year-old Bellevue man faces a felony charge for a Dec. 3 armed carjacking in Renton.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed a charge of robbery in the first degree against Jangel Jimenez-Hernandez, 20, of Bellevue on Dec. 6, two days after the Bellevue Police Department arrested him on Dec. 4.
The Renton Police Department initiated investigations into the incident after officers responded to a vehicle stolen at gunpoint on Dec. 3 at approximately 1:18 a.m. in the 600 block of Duvall Avenue Northeast, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
According to the affidavit, a man and a woman advised officers that two men approached them as they exited their BMW armed with handguns and demanded the keys to the victims’ vehicle. One suspect aimed a handgun at the woman, sitting in the vehicle, and ordered her to exit the vehicle and threatened to shoot her. Both suspects stepped into the vehicle and left the area.
According to the affidavit, officers located the stolen BMW and suspect vehicle in East Renton after using phone tracking information near the 17700 block of Renton Issaquah Road at about 1:30 a.m.
The drivers of both vehicles fled together at a high rate of speed. Officers attempted a short pursuit, losing contact with the vehicles. The tracker showed the stolen phone arriving at a stop at an address in Bellevue where officers requested Bellevue Police check the area with a description of the robbery incident.
At approximately 2:45 p.m., the Bellevue Police Department advised Renton officers of the detainment of a potential suspect near the location, identified as Jimenez-Hernandez.
The investigation into the second suspect and location of the BMW continues, according to the department.
The King County Superior Court scheduled Jimenez-Hernandez’s arraignment for 9 a.m. Dec. 20 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
Jimenez-Hernandez remains in custody on $500,000 bail, according to Casey McNerthney, director of communications for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
According to prosecutorial documents, prosecutors argued for a high bail amount because of the “violent nature of this robbery charge” and Jimenez-Hernandez’s criminal history, including a juvenile adjudication for manslaughter in the first degree.
