Teen-Ager Fatally Shot After Attempted Theft
A teen-ager was fatally shot while fleeing after an unsuccessful attempt to steal a motorcycle in Chatsworth, Los Angeles police reported Tuesday.
Matthew Lee Thomas, 18, of Simi Valley, was pronounced dead at West Valley Hospital and Health Center after the shooting that occurred about 11:50 p.m. Monday, Sgt. Mike Sonntag said.
Witnesses told police they saw Thomas trying to steal a motorcycle parked in the 20000 block of Lassen Street and interrupted him. As Thomas ran away, an unidentified man fired several rounds, hitting Thomas in the upper body as he entered a getaway car driven by his brother, Mark Alan Thomas, 24, also of Simi Valley, Sonntag said.
Mark Thomas drove his brother to the 22000 block of Devonshire Street, where an ambulance and police were called to the scene.
Investigators later determined that the getaway car, which bore Tennessee license plates, was stolen and Mark Thomas was taken to the Devonshire Division station on suspicion of attempted grand theft of a vehicle. He was later released on $10,000 bail.
Police were still trying to identify and locate the gunman, Sonntag said.
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