FRESNO - Detectives with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office are asking for the public’s help to find 26 year old Samuel Escamilla of Fresno. He is 5’8”, 160 lbs. with brown eyes and black hair. He is known to have a mustache and goatee. He has a tattoo of the “Air Jordan Jumpman” logo on his inner right forearm. It is possible Escamilla recently cut his hair to a short length. He is a known gang member.
Around 1:00 pm on July 24th, Samuel Escamilla and Elizabeth Sage approached a 76 year old man in the shopping center located at the northeast corner of First and McKinley in Fresno. The 76 year old man works as a driver for the ridesharing companies, Uber and Lyft. Sage and Escamilla told him they were interested in arranging a ride later in the day, so the driver provided them his contact information.
Later in the afternoon, Sage called the man and arranged for him to pick up Escamilla and her near the intersection of First and Princeton in Fresno. The man arrived around 3:30 pm and they agreed to a flat rate cash payment, rather than use the Uber or Lyft mobile apps to conduct the business transaction. Their agreed destination was the area of Fowler and Dinuba Avenues, just south of the city of Fowler. The man arrived in the rural area and pulled over to a dirt road, figuring they were lost.
During this time, Sage and Escamilla told the driver this was a robbery and they demanded his car keys, wallet and phone. The man turned off the car and then threw his key fob out the window and into a vineyard. He quickly got out of the car and tried running away. Escamilla chased the man and tackled him. Escamilla and Sage held a knife to the man and threatened to hurt him unless he did what they told him to do. The two suspects found the key fob in the dirt, got into the victim’s 2016 Jeep Cherokee and drove away. The victim walked to a home in the area and asked the residents for help. They called the Sheriff’s Office and deputies responded to take a report.
On July 26th, deputies located the stolen Jeep Cherokee. It was abandoned in an orchard near Clovis and Huntsman Avenues, a couple miles away from where it was originally taken.
Property crimes detectives handling the investigation development information which identified Elizabeth Sage and Samuel Escamilla as the carjacking suspects.
On July 31st, Elizabeth Sage was located and arrested. The 30 year old Fresno woman is currently in the Fresno County Jail facing several felony charges, including carjacking, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Her bail is $217,500.
Detectives have obtained video from a business, which shows Escamilla. They hope someone in the public recognizes him and can tell them his current location so he can be arrested.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Detective Eric Penland at (559) 600-8171 or Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-7867. You will remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
The Sheriff’s Office would like to encourage both drivers and passengers to be safe when utilizing ridesharing services. It’s best to book rides through the company’s appropriate mobile app. Doing so generates a digital record of the transaction, which allows both the company and law enforcement to track the customer / driver information should they need to access it at a later time.