Man accused of carjacking teen at gunpoint in East Valley High School parking lot faces new charges

A man is facing new charges a week after being arrested for allegedly carjacking a 17-year-old at gunpoint in the East Valley High School parking lot.

Tyler J. Thomas, 22, was originally accused of armed robbery, attempting to elude police and second-degree assault. On Monday deputies asked for additional charges of car theft and first-degree kidnapping. He is being held on $40,000 bond.

The victim reported to police that he was driving his 1992 red Ford Mustang in the high school parking lot shortly after 1 a.m. on March 18 when he was cut off by a pickup truck near the entrance and confronted by two men, according to court documents. One of the men, later identified as Thomas, was reportedly armed with a handgun.

The two men ordered the teen out of the vehicle at gunpoint and told him to walk toward the soccer field, court documents say.

Deputies caught up with Thomas a short time later heading west on Trent Avenue near Pines Road. He led them on a high-speed chase in the Mustang until he got stuck in the median at Trent and Fancher Road, according to court documents.

A gun and a magazine of ammunition were later found in front of a business in the 11400 block of East Trent and could have been thrown out of the car window by Thomas as he fled, court documents say.