SAN FRANCISCO—On November 21, the SFDA’s Office disclosed a conviction was obtained against Jason Gresham, 48, after a trial by jury for carjacking an Uber driver in Fisherman’s Wharf. He was convicted of carjacking (PC 215(a)) and one count of evading a police officer (VC 2800.1(a)(a)(2)) and giving false information to a police officer (PC 148.9(a)).
According to evidence and other testimony presented at trial in the early morning hours of January 21, Gresham approached the victim, an Uber driver, who was waiting at a hotel in Fisherman’s Wharf for a scheduled ride to the airport. The defendant opened the passenger side door of the victim’s car, leaned his body inside and demanded a ride from the victim. When the victim refused, he showed the victim a shiny, pointed object and demanded the victim leave the vehicle or he would “hit” the victim.
The victim exited the vehicle and Gresham climbed over the center console, got into the driver’s seat and fled the scene heading towards the Bay Bridge where officers from the San Francisco Police Department saw the vehicle (described in the victim’s 911 call) getting on an on-ramp. Once the SFPD confirmed the license plate they activated their lights and sirens and attempted to conduct a vehicle stop, but Gresham did not yield to their commands and continued going east on Interstate 80.
The California Highway Patrol from Oakland took over the pursuit and the defendant again failed to yield to the CHP’s commands to pull over. He drove for approximately 40 minutes travelling at speeds between 65 – 90 miles per hour while evading law enforcement, eventually stopping in a dead-end parking lot in Vallejo. Once officers detained Gresham, who provided a false name and a false date of birth.
He is currently in custody. Sentencing will be scheduled after a bench trial on aggravating factors scheduled for December 4.
