Police Arrest Man In New Bedford Carjacking Case

The man who New Bedford cops think carjacked a woman last Monday near St Luke's Hospital was arrested yesterday when they spotted her SUV on Chancery Street.   They stopped it and took 26-year-old Juan Joel Rivera into custody.   Police also found the kitchen knife they believe was used in the carjacking inside the SUV.

On Monday, Rivera allegedly jumped into the 44-year-old Dartmouth woman's SUV on Page Street, forced her to drive to Grape Street and let her out.  He told her that the vehicle would in at the Coggeshall Street McDonald's parking lot that night.   There was no trace of the SUV until cops spotted it yesterday. 

New Bedford Police say the woman has positively I-D'd Rivera from a photo array.   He is charged with armed carjacking, assault by means of a dangerous weapon and armed robbery.   He'll be in New Bedford District Court on Monday.