Leads Officers on 2 Chases in 2 Days : Cable Announcer Held in Checks Case

Employees of an Agoura Hills bank recognized the tall, dark-haired man who came in to cash a couple of checks as a local cable-television broadcaster. But that didn’t stop them from calling sheriff’s deputies when they discovered that his bank accounts might be closed.

The broadcaster, Thomas Michael Simon, eluded deputies Tuesday at the bank but was finally arrested Wednesday in Burbank after he entered several homes and begged occupants to help him hide out, authorities said.

Simon, also known as Simon Avila, 28, of Simi Valley, was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a peace officer, passing a fictitious check and resisting arrest, said Burbank Sgt. Joe Latta. He was in custody at the Burbank Police Station in lieu of $6,500 bail, Latta said.

Simon was also being sought by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department on suspicion of writing 60 fraudulent checks totaling an estimated $30,000-$40,000, said Sheriff’s Lt. Bob Gockel.

Simon had been detained by deputies Tuesday at the Far West Savings branch in Agoura Hills, said Lt. Bill McSweeney. However, deputies said, he fled in his car as officers were questioning him outside the bank.

Deputies had responded to a call from the bank manager about 11:30 a.m. to investigate two checks Simon attempted to deposit in his accounts, McSweeney said.

“The tellers had some experience with him and were concerned that he was passing bad checks,” McSweeney said, adding that tellers said they recognized the man as a newscaster on a local cable-television program. Simon told police he was manager of Simon Avila Broadcasting Co. in Thousand Oaks.

Simon asked a deputy if he could “step outside to explain himself,” according to the arrest report. When asked for his identification, Simon said he only had a car-rental agreement and went to his car to get it, McSweeney said.

Deputies noticed that the signature on the rental agreement was similar to that on the checks and started to arrest him, McSweeney said. When one of the deputies was distracted by a telephone, Simon got into his car and started it, McSweeney said.

A deputy attempted to stop Simon by jabbing him in the chest with a baton, but Simon drove his car in reverse and knocked down the deputy with an open car door, McSweeney said. The deputy was dragged a few feet along the pavement but suffered only minor cuts and scratches, McSweeney said.

After alerting other law-enforcement agencies, sheriffs deputies also called a Burbank car-repossession company where they believed Simon might go to pick up a car he owned, McSweeney said.

When Simon entered the repossession company’s office about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, employees summoned Burbank police.

Simon, clad in a white shirt, black pants and red suspenders, then led officers on a 20-minute car chase through residential streets in Burbank, police said. He eventually abandoned the car and ran through backyards and into three unlocked homes, Sgt. Latta said.

Simon finally ran out of a house in the 200 block of West Cedar Avenue, his arms over his head, and surrendered peacefully, Latta said.