Pasadena Carjack Suspect Pleads Not Guilty To Crash Spree

PASADENA, CA – An Arizona man who was allegedly driving a stolen Jeep when he carjacked an SUV in the Pasadena area after rear-ending it, then sped away and crashed the vehicle into some parked cars in Burbank where he got into a struggle with a California Highway Patrol officer, pleaded not guilty Monday to eight felony charges.

Johnny Paul Siganoff, also known as John Szabo and Frank Siganoff, is facing three accounts of resisting arrest, two counts of attempted carjacking, and one count each of driving or taking a vehicle without consent, carjacking and assault on a peace officer.

Bail was set at $300,000 and the 32-year-old Phoenix resident was ordered to return to the Pasadena courthouse on June 25, when a date is expected to be set for a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial.

Prosecutors allege Siganoff stole a Jeep from a gas station clerk in Mission Viejo last Wednesday and then got into a crash on the Foothill (210) Freeway near Hill Avenue in Pasadena with an SUV he then carjacked when the driver got out to inspect the damage.

• PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Pasadena Carjacking Suspect Arrested After Repeatedly Crashing

Siganoff later allegedly crashed into two other vehicles on the Ventura (134) Freeway at Harvey Drive in Glendale and tried to carjack those motorists before fleeing in the car he was driving. Police gave chase and after one more crash and attempted carjacking, Siganoff was arrested near Riverside Drive and the 134 Freeway in Burbank, according to the District Attorney's Office.

He faces a maximum sentence of more than nine years in prison if convicted as charged.

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