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Run club members intervene after SUV theft attempt at St. Augustine auto shop
A woman was injured when her arm became trapped in her SUV’s window as a man tried to drive away from the Firestone on San Marco Avenue. Runners heard her calls for help, and one called 911 before police arrested a 30-year-old man.
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A woman arriving for work at a San Marco Avenue auto shop found a man in her SUV early Oct. 10, and a struggle followed as he tried to drive away, police said. Members of a passing run club heard her yelling and stepped in, including one witness who called 911.
The incident began around 6:46 a.m. outside the Firestone, where the woman said she saw a man sleeping in a chair before going inside. She then heard her SUV start and ran out to find him in the driver’s seat, backing across the parking lot, according to the police report.
The woman told police she reached through the partly open driver’s-side window to unlock the door. The man rolled up the window while her arm was inside, leaving a bruise on her left arm, police said.
A run-club member recorded part of the confrontation and urged the man to stop. The shop’s manager also confronted him, according to police. The man stopped the SUV and sat in a chair outside the business until officers arrived.
Jesus Francisco Contreras Suarez, 30, of South Florida, was arrested Oct. 10 and charged with carjacking without a firearm or weapon, police said. The arrest report said he was held at the St. Johns County Jail without bond. He initially told officers he did not remember how he got to the business, then asked to speak with a lawyer, the report said.
A witness later posted video of the struggle on TikTok. St. Augustine resident William Donohue said he was shocked by the incident, describing the city as a place where people feel safe walking. He urged residents to stay aware of their surroundings and take ordinary precautions.
Firestone had not responded to a request for comment as of Oct. 16.