A Lake County man was arrested Tuesday following an afternoon crime spree in Winters and Esparto during which he allegedly stole several cars, burglarized homes and tried to carjack a teacher at Esparto High School.
Roland Engels, 37, is now in Yolo County Jail custody, facing a host of charges including multiple counts of burglary, robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, vehicle theft and attempted carjacking.
The Yolo County Sheriff’s Office gave the following account of the incident, which began at about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday when a man, “reportedly covered in blood,” approached a subject at a Winters gas station.
“The bloodied man made a strange statement and drove away, prompting the citizen to become concerned and report her observations to law enforcement,” sheriff’s officials said in a news release. “The man’s appearance and behavior were so concerning a second witness from the same location also called in with the information.”
It was later determined that the vehicle the man was driving was just stolen from a residence in the 30000 block of The Horseshoe, just outside of Winters, where a residential burglary also occurred.
Ten minutes after receiving the suspicious person reports in Winters, deputies were dispatched to a residence near the intersection of County Roads 23 and 86A, south of Esparto, where a resident reported that a man had entered her home and threatened her with a knife while demanding her car keys.
Deputies later found the vehicle the suspect was driving in Winters, abandoned in a ditch nearby this residence. The suspect was also found to have entered a total of three homes in this area, ultimately stealing another car from one of the properties.
“As deputies were arriving in the area they began receiving reports of an attempted carjacking outside of Esparto High School. The suspect was not successful and did not harm the victim of this incident, a teacher at the school,” sheriff’s officials said.
At about 3:25 p.m., deputies located the man near the Esparto High School campus, still driving the vehicle he stole from one of the properties near the location where he crashed the first vehicle.
“Deputies pursued the suspect through Esparto until he crashed in front of the Dollar General store at the intersection of Highway 16 and County Road 86A. The suspect ran into the store but was apprehended by deputies after a successful Taser application,” sheriff’s officials said.
Officers determined the suspect allegedly tried to carjack another individual prior to the Esparto High attempt. This crime took place at the same store where he was ultimately apprehended, then booked into the jail after being treated for injuries he sustained prior to his arrest.
The investigation of this case is ongoing. Anyone with additional information is urged to contact the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office at 530-668-5280 or 530-666-8282. Anonymous tips can be reported at 530-668-5248.