PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A suspected carjacker in Salem faces numerous charges, but police still don’t know who the driver was in the car that was nearly stolen.
The incident unfolded around 12:15 a.m. February 17 on State Street in Salem. Police stopped a stolen car with spike strips, but the suspect — later identified as Raymond Abel Nanez — ran away before police could catch him.
As Abel Nanez ran, he tried to get into an occupied car that had stopped because of the police activity. A Keizer PD K-9 caught up to Abel and bit him, holding him until officers arrived and arrested him.
But the driver of that car, a light-colored, medium-sized 4-door sedan, drove away from the scene and hasn’t been identified. Police want to talk with that driver for any information related to the case.
Abel Nanez, 23, was treated at a hospital for dog bites and faces charges related to this incident as well as a bench warrant for failing to appear at a previous case. He’s expected to be arraigned for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, fleeing and eluding, reckless driving and reckless endangerment plus failing to perform the duties of a driver.
Anyone with information is asked to call Keizer PD Officer Eric Jefferson at 503.390.3713, extension 3477, or by email: jeffersone@keizer.org