Wethersfield PD: Man charged with assaulting woman by pushing her out of a vehicle during carjacking

A Rocky Hill man was arrested and charged for allegedly pushing an elderly woman out of her vehicle during a carjacking in Wethersfield in March, police said.

Officers were dispatched to 100 Executive Square on March 20 for a report of a carjacking. The victim told officers that a man entered her vehicle as she attempted to park in the parking lot, according to the Wethersfield Police Department.

The victim reported to police that the suspect entered her passenger door, took a seat and instructed her to take him home to an unknown location, police said. The woman reportedly refused, and the suspect said he was in possession of a firearm, though a firearm was never displayed, according to police.

The suspect then reportedly pushed the woman out of the car before fleeing, police said.

The woman received medical attention at the scene, though no injuries were reported, according to police.

Her vehicle, a 2011 Nissan Versa, was located by the Hartford Police Auto Theft Task Force in Hartford that same day, police said. The vehicle was seized for evidence processing by the Wethersfield Police Department Detective Bureau.

An extensive investigation by Wethersfield detectives resulted in an arrest warrant for 58-year-old Joseph Castro.

After multiple attempts to locate Castro, he was taken into custody on Friday without incident and charged with robbery by carjacking, third-degree assault of an elderly victim and third-degree larceny. He was being held in lieu of a $200,000 bond and appeared in court in New Britain.

“The Wethersfield Police Department wishes to thank the Rocky Hill Police Department for their assistance in this investigation,” Wethersfield police said in a statement on Friday.