Man accused of stealing 2 cars in 24 hours, attempted homicide, Fresno Police say

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Officials say 26-year-old Christian Luna is facing charges of attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, carjacking, and vehicle theft after two separate incidents in just 24 hours.

According to local authorities, Luna stole two cars in different areas around the region on Sept. 24 alone — starting with a violent carjacking in Fresno.

Fresno Police say the day started early for Luna, when just before 12:30 a.m., he was getting a ride in the area of Sierra Vista and Butler avenues in Fresno, when he attacked the driver and stabbed them several times in the upper body.

The victim told police the two had gotten into an argument, leading Luna to stab him and force him out of the car, before driving off with it himself.

The victim was taken to CRMC; his status is unknown. His car was recovered, but Luna got away.

Later the same day, the California Highway Patrol says he eventually made his way to an unspecified part of the Reedley-Sanger area, where he found another car running and unoccupied.

“Obviously, it’s kind of a textbook on what not to do,” said CHP Public Information Officer Mike Salas. “The owner of this vehicle left his car running with the keys inside, went inside for a couple minutes. When he returned, obviously, our fabulous crook took his car.”

Salas says the owner had a tracking app that helped officers locate Luna as he took off with the car.

“They were traveling near 180 and McCall when they finally picked it up,” he said.

Salas says officers then chased him into Clovis, near Poe and Las Rosas avenues, before the man leapt out of the stolen Honda Accord, going about 15 miles per hour toward a home.

“That vehicle rolled into that residential house, crashed into the front entryway, obviously caused a lot of damage for that homeowner,” Salas shared. “The individual tried to flee on foot, but thanks to the Clovis Police Department and Highway Patrol, we were able to coordinate and take that individual safely, without incident, into custody.”

Salas says Luna was found with two realistic-looking airsoft pistols that “could have been used for something else maliciously down the road.”

Miraculously, nobody in the latter incident was injured.

Luna was booked into the Fresno County Jail, but he bonded out just a day later. However, it didn’t take Fresno Police long to arrest him again.

They linked him to the earlier stabbing and carjacking and say they took him into custody early Friday morning in downtown.

This is just the latest run-in with law enforcement for Luna, who has a criminal history spanning nearly a decade, including several felony charges on his record.