Pair wanted in armed Santa Rosa carjacking

A Healdsburg man who was on his way to a local motel with a woman he met online was carjacked Wednesday by an armed stranger who appeared to be working with the driver’s female companion, Santa Rosa police reported Thursday.

The gunman and the woman drove away together in the man’s blue Honda Accord, prompting the man’s 911 call to report the 7:32 p.m. carjacking in Santa Rosa’s Roseland neighborhood, police said.

The man, 32, said he arranged to meet a woman near Stony Point and Sebastopol roads after finding her on “an online forum commonly used to facilitate prostitution activity,” the press release said.

The two drove to a nearby house and then agreed to go to a motel.

As they were about to leave, a male stranger got into the back seat of the Healdsburg man’s Honda, police said.

The vehicle owner began to drive away when the stranger started punching him in the head from the back seat, police said. The unknown man then pulled out a black handgun and pointed it at the driver, police said.

Scared for his life, the driver stopped the car on Gloria Drive and West Avenue, got out and ran away.

The gunman then moved to the driver’s seat and left with the woman. They are both wanted for their role in the alleged carjacking and assault with a deadly weapon.

The man was described as a thin, white male in his mid-30s, and about 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet tall.

He has dark hair and a goatee, the news release said.

The woman was described as being white and in her mid-30s. She’s about 5 feet 7 inches tall with a medium build and has a tattoo on her chest, police say.

Police are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man and woman involved in the carjacking.

The Healdsburg man was left with cuts to his head from the encounter. The Honda Accord was found Thursday afternoon in the parking lot of a San Pablo casino.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter ?@nashellytweets.