UPDATE: Petaluma Carjacking suspect arrested in San Francisco

The suspect in a carjacking in Petaluma on Wednesday was arrested in San Francisco, according to Petaluma police.|

The suspect in a carjacking in Petaluma on Wednesday was arrested in San Francisco, according to Petaluma police.

A San Francisco Police Department officer initiated a traffic stop on the victim’s vehicle for not having a rear license plate and a moving violation. The officer learned that the vehicle was reported stolen after checking the front license plate. The driver, Matthew Vidor, a 27-year-old transient from Sonoma County, was arrested.

Earlier in the evening, Petaluma police said Vidor stole the 2004 Volvo Cross Country wagon as it was running in the Lucky parking lot on Lakeville Street.

An 85-year-old man told officers he was loading groceries into the car after his wife finished shopping when the suspect shut the trunk and hopped into the driver’s seat.

The victim tried to stop the theft by jumping in the passenger seat but was pushed out as the suspect drove away, police said. He sustained minor injuries in the fall.

Officers spotted the car entering southbound Highway 101 at East Washington Street. The man accelerated, passing other cars on the shoulder, before getting off the freeway at Petaluma Boulevard South and immediately getting back on.

After his arrest in San Francisco, a detective and officer from the Petaluma Police Department went to San Francisco and obtained a confession from Vidor. He was transported and booked at the Sonoma County Jail for carjacking, felony evading, felony elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. The victim’s vehicle was towed to the Petaluma for processing.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.