By Brian Anderson
San Ramon Valley Times

Nov. 11, 1999

LIVERMORE — A 39-year-old Livermore man was arrested early Wednesday in connection with a carjacking that left a San Ramon pizza delivery driver in critical condition last week.

Richard Che Hoffman was taken into custody about 1 a.m. in Livermore on suspicion of carjacking, conspiracy and possession of stolen property, said San Ramon police officer Sgt. Pete Slaviero.

Police continue to search for the 20-year-old Livermore woman who they believe actually drove off with the pickup belonging to delivery driver Anthony Torres.

Police say Torres, 19, was critically injured Nov. 1 when he tried to stop a female driver who took off with his pickup while he made a delivery to a home on Talavera Drive in San Ramon.

Torres ran after the woman as she drove away, police said. He dove part-way into the open passenger-side window and clung to the bed of the truck with an arm and a leg, a witness told police.

Torres struggled to hang on as the woman, reaching speeds of 60 mph, drove toward Bollinger Canyon Road, police said.

As the driver drove to the on-ramp for southbound Interstate 680, Torres was thrown from the truck and hit his head on the pavement.

Police said Hoffman was the driver of a car that carried the female suspect before the truck theft, and that followed her during the race for the freeway.

Hoffman's arrest came several hours after he led officers on a chase that criss-crossed Livermore, Slaviero said.

Livermore police officials did not return repeated calls for details of the chase, but Slaviero said officers with that department "were definitely positive who was in the vehicle."

Torres suffered what is possibly a fractured skull and was upgraded to serious but stable condition Wednesday at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.

Police found Torres' 1991 Chevrolet pickup last week near Sundown and Percheron roads in Livermore. Evidence was taken from the truck, but police would not disclose what it was.