Police arrest suspect in apparent drunken carjacking attempt in Irvine

Police say they arrested a man on suspicion of trying to drunkenly carjack a victim in an Irvine neighborhood Tuesday morning.

Officers arrested Ralph Garcia Velazquez, a 50-year-old Norwalk resident, around 6:20 a.m., shortly after he opened a car’s door and pulled the driver out near the intersection of Encore and Ovation, Irvine police Lt. Bill Whalen said in a news release.

At one point during the carjacking, Velazquez managed to get inside the vehicle, but he and the victim continued to struggle, and Velazquez ended up fleeing on foot, police said.

Velazquez appeared to be intoxicated and did not know the driver, according to authorities.

After being called to the scene, officers found Velazquez nearby and arrested him, Whalen said.

Police are still investigating and asked that anyone with information call Det. Gavin Hudson at (949) 724-7168.

— Jeremiah Dobruck

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck