Carjacking suspect faces two counts of first-degree robbery

A man who lived in the Kingsgate area has been charged with two counts of first-degree robbery related to two recent carjackings at knifepoint.

The charges were filed against Victor Trejo, 23, who was described in court filings as having been in Western Washington for only a few months. Trejo has pleaded not guilty and is being held in the King County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.

The incidents took place June 30 and July 14, according to the July 18 charges. In the first incident, Trejo is accused of approaching a woman in the Kingsgate Safeway parking lot on 124th Avenue Northeast, north of Kirkland, with a kitchen knife as she loaded groceries in a car.

The woman gave Trejo the keys to her Kia Spectra and took her 3-year-old child from the vehicle, according to the charges.

King County deputies responded, but could not find the thief. The car was recovered three days later in a parking lot at the nearby Kingsgate Ridge apartments. Fingerprints found at the scene are being processed.

On July 14, a woman putting gas in her car at the Safeway pumps also was approached by a man with a knife.

The man got in the woman's Toyota Corolla and drove away, with her purse inside. About five hours later, a deputy saw the car and police pulled it over, with Trejo driving, according to the charges.

Credit cards and a woman's identification were found in a search, a knife was recovered, and the woman later picked out Trejo's picture, according to the charges. A later search of Trejo's apartment found car keys missing from the June 30 robbery, according to court filings.

An Aug. 8 case-scheduling hearing has been set in King County Superior Court.