Stolen Vehicle Arrest: Suspect Flees Visalia Gym Parking Lot & Injures Bystander
VISALIA, CA — A 47-year-old woman was arrested on multiple felony charges after allegedly stealing a vehicle from a gym parking lot, striking a bystander, and attempting to utilize the victim’s stolen credit cards.
Visalia Police Department officers responded to the 700 block of East Center Avenue shortly before 6:30 p.m. following reports of a vehicle theft that had just transpired. The victim reported that she was inside a nearby fitness facility when she discovered her purse had been stolen. Upon walking out to the parking lot, she observed an unknown female suspect sitting inside her vehicle.
As the suspect began backing the automobile out of the parking space, the victim opened the driver-side door in an attempt to physically pull the suspect from the vehicle. The suspect then accelerated rapidly, running over the foot of a second victim who was standing nearby, before fleeing the area.
A family member of the victim subsequently located the abandoned vehicle parked at a commercial business a short distance away. Responding officers reviewed property surveillance footage from the location and positively identified the suspect as Sonya Montoya of Woodlake.
While officers were still processing the recovered vehicle, the victim received an automated alert indicating her stolen credit card was actively being used at another retail business within Visalia. Officers immediately responded to the new location, where they located and safely detained Montoya without further incident.
Montoya was transported and booked into the Tulare County Adult Pre-Trial Detention Facility on charges of vehicle theft, robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and fraudulent use of a credit card. The bystander injured during the initial escape was treated for minor foot injuries.
