Tucson carjacking suspect shot by sheriff's deputies booked into jail

A 25-year-old carjacking suspect who was shot during an October confrontation with sheriff's deputies was booked into jail Tuesday, officials said.

Elijah Lawrence is facing four charges of aggravated assault, one charge of armed robbery and two charges of kidnapping in connection with the Oct. 4 incident, Deputy Cody Gress, a Pima County Sheriff's Department spokesman, wrote in a news release.

Lawrence has been in a medical rehabilitation facility recovering from his gunshot wound and related surgeries, Gress wrote.

The incident began with a carjacking report at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 5000 block of East Valencia Road at a Chevron gas station, which turned into a chase involving DPS troopers on Interstate 10.

A man “pulled out a handgun and carjacked a victim at the Chevron who was pumping gas,” said Sgt. Pete Dugan, a Tucson Police Department spokesman. He said the armed man “took off in the car and he dumped it on the highway” and ran away.

Gress gave the following account:

About 15 minutes later, there was a report of another carjacking at a house in the 4100 block of East Dover Stravanue, which is in the county outside city limits. Failing to get a car there, the man went to another home on the street, held a man at gunpoint and stole his car while taking him hostage.

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At some point, deputies caught up to the vehicle at South Catalina Avenue and East Drexel Road and a chase began.

There were two men inside the car, the gunman and the hostage. The gunman was driving and pointing a gun at the other man and also pointing the gun at law-enforcement officers.

The vehicle stopped on East Aviation Parkway near East 34th Street when the gunman’s car veered into a concrete median. The gunman pointed a gun at the hostage again, “at which point shots were fired.” A deputy fired one round, Gress said. No law-enforcement officers were injured.

The suspect, later identified as Lawrence, was taken by ambulance to Banner-University Medical Center Tucson.

The hostage was also taken to a hospital to be checked out by doctors as a precaution.

Sgt. Kevin Kubitskey, an 18-year veteran of PCSD, fired at Lawrence during the confrontation.