SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : 120-M.P.H. Chase Leads to ‘Chop Shop’

California Highway Patrol auto theft investigators were trying to determine Wednesday whether a “small scale” stolen auto parts operation discovered in South County is linked to a larger auto theft ring.

Two people were arrested after law enforcement officers discovered three stolen cars and various auto and motorcycle parts--signs of a “chop shop” operation--at a rural house in an unincorporated area near Caspers Regional Park. They were led there when San Clemente police chased one of the stolen vehicles late New Year’s Day at speeds of up to 120 m.p.h. on Ortega Highway.

Charged with grand theft were Brandon Mitchell Baker, 18, who lives in the house owned by his aunt where the stolen autos were found, and an unidentified 17-year-old male from Quail Valley, CHP spokesman Ken Daily said. Three juvenile girls were questioned and later released to the custody of their parents, Daily said.

Two of the three stolen autos--a 1988 Honda Prelude and a 1987 Toyota MR2--are models often targeted by auto thieves, police said, because the autos’ seats are difficult to obtain.

The chase began shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday, when San Clemente police received a call from a woman who reported that someone was attempting to steal her Honda Prelude. Daily said the car’s owner also described an Isuzu pickup truck parked alongside her Honda.

A police unit caught up with both vehicles as they entered the northbound lanes of Interstate 5, but the driver of the Prelude sped away and prompted the chase, Daily said.

Police followed the stolen vehicle as it exited on San Juan Creek Road, Daily said, then drove north along Camino Capistrano.

Sgt. James Thomas said that as the chase went through San Juan Capistrano, the driver of the stolen car--later identified as the juvenile suspect--”locked (his) brakes up and (then) backed up towards the (police) unit,” damaging the patrol car slightly.

From there, the chase continued along Junipero Serra Road, turned south to Rancho Viejo Road and then east along the winding Ortega Highway. San Clemente police asked the CHP to pick up the chase as it entered the unincorporated area of the county, officials said.

As a CHP helicopter hovered over the area in search of the suspects, witnesses to the chase waved down the helicopter and directed the officers up a road off Ortega Highway that led to the house where the stolen goods were recovered.