A woman who is said to be a knife and baseball bat carrying burglar and car thief was arrested on Wednesday morning. Sheriff’s deputies linked a series of reports of robberies and attempted armed robberies in Joshua Tree and Yucca Valley to one woman, Jessica Allen, a 35-year-old Yucca Valley resident. On Monday (Oct. 31), Allen allegedly attempted to steal a truck from employees at the Castanedas restaurant in Joshua Tree while armed with a knife, before walking into a nearby home, stealing clothing and ‘ tried to steal a pest control truck. parked in the driveway.

Just after midnight Wednesday morning (Nov. 2), the sheriff reports that Allen entered a residence in the 58200 block of Joshua Dr. in Yucca Valley, where she demanded keys to a car while threatening the resident with a baseball bat. Later that morning, Allen allegedly entered another residence in the 7700 block of Victor Vista in Yucca Valley, where the 88-year-old resident believed she was a nurse. There, Allen allegedly stole phones and keys from the vehicle, then fled in the stolen vehicle, but crashed a short distance away. Deputies set up a perimeter around the crashed vehicle and were able to quickly locate Allen. Jessica Allen was arrested on suspicion of residential robbery and theft of a motor vehicle and booked into the Morongo Basin Jail.

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