Chase Ends in Crash; 2 Held in Truck Theft

A chase that began when a Fountain Valley police officer spotted two youths breaking into a vehicle Friday morning ended in Santa Ana a short time later after the pair’s stolen four-wheel-drive truck jumped a center divider several times.

Charged with grand theft auto, burglary and receiving stolen property were Daniel Ruiz, 18, of Santa Ana, who was taken to Orange County Jail, and a 17-year-old from Santa Ana whose name wasn’t released. He was taken to Juvenile Hall.

Officer Rocky Rakitis reported spotting two youths taking the license plate from another truck in a parking lot near Harbor Boulevard and Lilac Avenue about 4 a.m. When he attempted to stop them at Harbor Boulevard and Heil Avenue, they sped off at speeds that reached 70 m.p.h., according to Lt. Bob Mosely.

In their attempts to escape from Rakitis, the two drove the four-wheel-drive truck over the center divider several times, changing direction each time.

After a second police car joined the pursuit, the two turned off the boulevard into a commercial area at Harbor and Segerstrom Avenue and smashed up the truck, which was later found to have been stolen from Santa Ana. Mosely said it is believed that they intended to switch the license plates to avoid detection.