A woman pleaded guilty Wednesday and was sentenced to three years in prison for a violent carjacking in Santa Ana.
Michelle Diane Sanchez, 26, pleaded guilty to a felony count of carjacking. As part of her plea deal felony counts of attempted murder and assault with a firearm were dismissed.
A 54-year-old Costa Mesa man was shot twice in the upper body in the April 22, 2019, carjacking, said Santa Ana Police Department Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
The victim met Sanchez the evening of the shooting and the two reconnected later that night when she texted him saying she needed a ride to her car, Bertagna said.
When he went to pick up Sanchez at Bristol Street and Central Avenue, she said the two men with her were friends and also needed a ride, Bertagna said.
The three got into the victim’s Ford F-150 pickup truck, and when they got to the 500 block of East Central Avenue, one of the men demanded at gunpoint that the driver pull over, Bertagna said.
Sanchez then shot the victim, who managed to get out of the pickup before the suspects fled in the truck, Bertagna said.
Detectives found the pickup truck a short distance away from the shooting, Bertagna said.
Co-defendant Angel Macias, 21, is charged with single felony counts each of attempted murder, carjacking and assault with a firearm, according to court records. He is next due in court Nov. 13 for a pretrial hearing in the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.