Transient accused of trying to carjack woman in Northwest Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A woman is sharing her terrifying experience after police say a transient tried to steal her car in Northwest Fresno.

The crime happened near Milburn and Herndon in the middle of a strip mall around 3 p.m. Sunday.

The 56-year-old Fresno woman was trying to get cash out of an ATM. She left her car running and turned her back for just a few moments. She was walking back to her car when Justin Moss, 33, approached her truck.

"I grabbed the door, and he shoved me, and I shoved him back," the woman told Action News.

Moss was carrying a plastic bag with what looked like a gun in his waistband.

"I was thinking I could see the gun through his shirt. I was thinking he was going to shoot me. That's all I can remember is thinking that looking at his shirt waiting for him to shoot me like I was stupid for pushing him," the woman said.

Moss ran away as people came to help the victim. He tossed the plastic bag and ran to the nearby Lakes Apartments complex on Palo Alto Avenue, where he was arrested by Fresno police. He was later booked into the Fresno County Jail.

"That's always an issue you never should leave your car running, of course, a lot of us do for convenience but this is exactly what can happen when you leave it running," said Fresno police Lt. Joe Gomez.

Gomez says Moss is from Maryland and has been in Fresno for about a month. They never found the gun Moss claimed to have, but he had ample time to stash it while police were looking for him.

"In this case it turned out good for her, but he could have had a gun, he could have shot her," said Gomez. "So it's much better to let him take the car. You can always get another vehicle."

Gomez says Moss is facing a felony carjacking charge.