Fresno man escaped custody after allegedly stealing Amazon van. Now he’s been arrested
A man who allegedly stole an Amazon van Monday and escaped police custody was arrested Wednesday evening at a hotel in southwest Fresno.
Police said 29-year-old Jesse Tapia of Fresno was arrested without incident when he walked out of his room on the second floor as officers were about to knock on the door at the Days Inn at East Jensen Avenue and South Second Street.
He was taken into custody just before 9:30 p.m. He will be booked at Fresno County jail on charges of armed carjacking, vehicle theft, kidnapping and a probation violation for vehicle theft and escape, Lt. Israel Reyes said.
Reyes said Tapia is a known transient and officers learned he could be at the Days Inn.
Tapia was previously taken into custody Monday after allegedly stealing an Amazon vehicle and fleeing from police, then threatening to shoot a different driver.
The initial crime took place around 6:50 p.m. Monday, while an Amazon driver was making his final delivery at Cedar and Woodward avenues in southeast Fresno.
Reyes said the Amazon driver saw a man pull up in a vehicle and took off in the Amazon vehicle.
The Amazon driver told officers he left his phone in the delivery van, which helped police track the vehicle’s whereabouts.
About 45 minutes later, police were able to track the phone and found the van at Central and Orange. Reyes said officers followed the van on northbound Highway 41 until a police helicopter took over.
When Tapia exited on Shields Avenue, officers tried to initiate a traffic stop. But he took off.
Tapia then drove to Blackstone and Shields avenues, where he got stuck in traffic.
Reyes said Tapia tried to maneuver around and rammed two cars, then decided to get out of the vehicle and run across Blackstone.
Police said Tapia then got into a passenger seat of a stopped vehicle that was headed eastbound on Shields and allegedly threatened to shoot the driver if he didn’t start driving off.
That’s when officers arrived, and pulled Tapia out of the vehicle and arrested him.
But he would later escape.
After being taken to CRMC for medical evaluation, Tapia somehow removed the facility restraints and walked away from the downtown facility, police said.
No weapons were found Wednesday evening.
This story was originally published April 13, 2021 at 10:41 PM with the headline "Fresno man escaped custody after allegedly stealing Amazon van. Now he’s been arrested."
