Cops nab suspect in weekend carjacking, abduction and robbery

A brazen weekend carjacking, kidnapping and armed robbery of two convenience store customers quickly landed a man in jail, Salt Lake City police say.

Salt Lake City police Detective Greg Wilking said two men had just walked out of a Maverik store at 508 E. 300 South, cups of coffee in hand, when the gun-toting suspect approached them about 9:25 a.m. Sunday and forced them into their nearby Mercedes sedan.

The gunman then got in the back seat behind the driver and ordered him to drive away — all of which was witnessed by a woman nearby, who called 911.

Officers responding to the call soon located the car about a block away, abandoned near an apartment complex in the area of 300 South and 500 East. The victims had been forced into one of the complex's units and robbed of their cash and ATM cards.

The suspect then pushed the victims into a closet and attempted to barricade it with a piece of lumber, but the men still managed to break out, flee the apartment and run back to the Maverik.

They provided police with a description of the suspect, who was spotted by police walking southbound at 370 S. 600 East and, after a brief foot chase, taken into custody.

Police said they found a loaded handgun in the 34-year-old man's waistband, as well as the property belonging to the victims.

The suspect remained in the Salt Lake County jail on Monday, held without bail on suspicion of first-degree felony count of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery.

remims@sltrib.com

Twitter: @remims