Menifee man arrested on suspicion of carjacking, assault

A Menifee man is in police custody on charges of carjacking and assault with a deadly weapon related to an incident in Temecula on Monday, authorities said.

Curtis Jones, 25, is accused of stealing a woman's vehicle in Temecula and causing her moderate injuries, according to a Sheriff's Department news release. The incident occurred about 2:30 a.m. Monday, when a woman reportedly attempted to give a male acquaintance a ride home from a business in the 27000 block of Jefferson Avenue. The woman told police she returned to the location moments later when Jones appeared too intoxicated to give her his home address.

At the original location, both exited the vehicle. Jones then got into the driver's seat of the white 2014 Infiniti Q50 sedan and began to drive away. The victim attempted to stop the suspect, grabbing onto him through the open driver side door. The suspect accelerated and dragged the woman a short distance before she fell away, suffering injuries.

Later that night, officers located the stolen vehicle abandoned in a dirt field in Menifee. With the assistance of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deparment, officers found the suspect in hiding at a relative's residence in Apple Valley. He is being held in the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta with bail set at $60,000, according to jail records.