A suspected carjacker who allegedly stole a Safford woman’s car at gunpoint was apprehended by Phoenix Police on Sunday.

According to Safford Detective Diane Thomas, Phoenix Police notified the Safford Police Department around 11 p.m. that they arrested suspected carjacker Rolando Emmanuel Chavez, 21, of Glendale. Chavez was arrested on a Phoenix warrant for a separate carjacking previous to the Safford incident. He is also already on probation for theft of means of transportation and was due for a probation revocation hearing July 28.

The Safford resident’s car, a 2003 Chevrolet Impala with an “In Loving Memory of Eric Medina” sticker, was stolen the morning of June 29 as the victim prepared to go to work. It was later recovered July 3 after it crashed during an attempted evasion of Glendale Police. The driver in the crash, Deanna Gean Smart, 17, of Glendale was charged with theft of means of transportation, DUI-drug, DUI and unlawful flight from police. She later admitted that she assisted in the theft of the car from Safford and that she and her boyfriend were using a lot of meth. Detective Thomas interviewed Chavez on Tuesday and said he admitted to the crime and asked Thomas to tell the victim he was sorry. He said he has done a copious amount of crystal methamphetamine for the past month and that he was “methed out” when he committed his crimes.

According to Thomas, Chavez said he and Smart had stolen a car from Phoenix and used it to bring another girl to Safford to visit a friend. When they were about to return to Phoenix, they realized they didn’t have gas money. They were driving around town when he noticed the victim’s car running. He told Smart to meet him at a parking lot police believe was the Best Western Motel lot and stole the victim’s car.

Once the suspects reunited at the parking lot, they scraped the decal off the back of the vehicle and drove the stolen Phoenix car back to the house they were visiting. After their hosts noticed their paranoia, they told them they had stolen a car from a woman. They drove the stolen Phoenix car back to the parking lot, left it there and drove the stolen Safford car to Glendale. According to Thomas, Chavez said they had to stop at the Gila River Casino and beg for gas money to make it back to Glendale.

Chavez said he and Smart drove the stolen Safford car back to retrieve the stolen Phoenix car either later the same evening or early the next morning. They returned to the house they previously were visiting, and the occupants advised them to leave the car there. Chavez and Smart allegedly cursed at the people and took both cars back to Phoenix. The couple were arrested a couple days later after they wrecked the car as they attempted to evade Glendale Police.

While Smart was taken to a juvenile detention facility, Chavez was going to be arrested by Glendale Police, but was released from the hospital instead. Safford detectives alerted Phoenix Police to Chavez’s possibly being a suspect in the separate Phoenix carjacking, and the victim in that case positively identified Chavez as her assailant. A warrant was issued, and Phoenix Police arrested Chavez a short time later.

The Graham County Attorney’s office charged Chavez with two counts of theft of means of transportation – class-three felonies, and one count of armed robbery – a class-two felony.