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Carjacking suspect also facing drug charges
A man accused of a carjacking in Austin is also facing serious drug charges in Hays County.
AUSTIN, Texas - A 20-year-old man was arrested and charged with numerous felonies after he robbed a victim of her car in Austin, the Austin Police Department (APD) said.
On Monday, Jan. 1, at around 4:45 p.m., officers responded to a robbery in the 2000 block of East William Cannon Drive.
When officers arrived, they found a victim who had been forced to give up her car keys due to a threat.
According to APD, the suspect had been waiting at the scene of the robbery when the victim pulled up to her workplace. Once the victim got out of her car, the suspect approached and pressed a bag against the victim and demanded her car keys. Fearing that the suspect had a firearm inside the bag, the victim surrendered her keys.
The suspect then left the scene with the stolen car.
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Later that day, Hays County deputies found the stolen car parked on the side of a road in Kyle.
On Jan. 2, members of the Hays County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) Special Services Division (SSD) saw a report of an attempted robbery in the area where the stolen car was.
Members of HCSO SSD worked alongside the APD Robbery Unit, and connected the same suspect to both the robbery investigation and another investigation being conducted by HCSO SSD for narcotics related offenses.
On Jan. 4, a search warrant and numerous arrest warrants were executed.
20-year-old Jose Alexander Cruz
The suspect, 20-year-old Jose Cruz, was taken into custody, and charged with the following offenses:
- Manufacturing/Delivery of a controlled substance (3 charges for this offense)
- Manufacturing/Delivery of a controlled substance causing death or serious bodily injury
- Aggravated Robbery
- Robbery
- Possession of a controlled substance
Evidence of both robberies were found inside the home, along with narcotics suspected to contain fentanyl.
Cruz was booked into Hays County Jail and remains in custody.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the APD Robbery tip line at (512) 974-5092, or Capitol Area Crime Stoppers at 512-472-8477. For the Capitol Area Crime Stoppers submission, you may submit an anonymous tip online at austincrimestoppers.org.