Salinas police arrest man after attempted carjacking

An 18-year-old man is behind bars Wednesday after Salinas police say he tried to steal another man’s car that morning.

Officers responded to a call of a possible fight involving a gun shortly before 7 a.m. on California Street. An officer saw Alexander Chavero coming out of the carport area and contacted him.

Chavero dropped a handgun and was eventually taken into custody.

Police say he’d approached a 24-year-old man and tried to rob him of his car keys at gunpoint, threatening to shoot him if he didn’t hand over the keys. Instead, the victim took off.

Police recovered a .357 revolver with obliterated serial number. Chavero was booked in the Monterey County Jail on charges of possession of a firearm and attempted carjacking.