Fire Chief’s Car Stolen, Hits 17 Others; Man Held

A Mission Hills man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of stealing a fire chief’s car from the scene of a Granada Hills blaze and crashing it into 17 parked cars in what police described as a drunken spree.

Police said the incident began when Michael James Smith, 24, asked firefighters to drive him home after his car broke down about 5:30 a.m. near a minor fire at an appliance store at 17538 Chatsworth St. When the firemen refused, Smith took off in the battalion chief’s car, which was parked nearby with its engine running and red lights flashing, police said.

In the next 20 minutes the vehicle struck 17 parked cars in a four-block area, police said. About 6 a.m. a Fire Department rescue ambulance spotted the chief’s empty car, smashed against a Cadillac about a mile from the fire scene.

Smith was arrested half an hour later when he returned to the scene with another man to retrieve his stalled vehicle.

Police found a loaded handgun in the back seat of the broken-down car. Smith is wanted by Simi Valley police and Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies for failure to appear in court on two other drunk driving charges, police said.

The blaze caused an estimated $13,000 damage to the store, according to fire officials.

A police spokesman said Smith is considered a suspect in the intentionally set blaze because he smelled of gasoline and had singed hair on his head and arms.

Smith was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, grand theft auto and felony vandalism. He was being held in lieu of $6,060 bail at the Van Nuys Jail.