Santa Rosa man arrested on suspicion of carjacking downtown

A Santa Rosa man was arrested Friday evening after he allegedly carjacked a motorist near Courthouse Square.

According to a news release Saturday, Santa Rosa police were dispatched to the incident at 8:06 p.m. Friday after witnesses called 911 and reported that a male suspect had stolen from someone.

Police officers made contact with the motorist and learned that she had been stopped at a red light at 3rd Street and Mendocino Avenue when the suspect jumped into her Honda Odyssey minivan and “told her to drive,” reports said in the press release.

The victim jumped out of the vehicle and ran onto the sidewalk, the suspect took the wheel and drove away. Witnesses told dispatchers he was last seen driving south on Santa Rosa Avenue.

Shortly afterward, 911 callers reported a silver minivan traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of Highway 101, the release said. An officer spotted the van stopped on the highway near the Hearn Avenue exit and saw the suspect exit the vehicle and run away from the vehicle.

Santa Rosa police officers pursued the suspect and arrested him near Santa Rosa Avenue and Hearn Avenue, the release said.

After the victim was “positively identified,” Ryan Humphreys of Santa Rosa was arrested on suspicion of auto theft and resisting arrest. He was in the Sonoma County Jail as of Saturday morning.

Reach Staff Writer Jeremy Hay at 707-387-2960 or [email protected]. On X (Twitter) @jeremyhay