Cellular-Phone Hero Cited for Blow on Crime

Maurice Cheek has been on the lookout for car thieves ever since his 1976 Cadillac Seville was stolen from his driveway one night six years ago.

When police found Cheek’s car in Southeast San Diego the next morning, it bore little resemblance to the freshly painted, dove-gray beauty he had just tuned up and fitted with new tires.

“It really hurt me to see my car look like that. They took the doors, took the fenders and totally stripped the car,” said Cheek, 54. “They even used a can opener to open the moon roof.”

So, last month, when Cheek was on a nightly walk near his San Diego home and saw a man wearing surgical gloves nervously back away from a parked van and walk back to a Toyota camper where another man sat, Cheek knew just what to do.

He went home, jumped into his Corvette and returned to the spot, only to find both vehicles gone. He circled around the block until he spotted the camper leading the van onto northbound Interstate 5 and then dialed 911 from his cellular phone.

The move earned him at CHP/Pac-Tel Cellular Heroes award Tuesday.

Bestowed every four months, the award cites citizens who have helped catch criminals by calling police via car phone, Pac-Tel spokesman Scott E. Hoganson said.

The awards were started last October to praise some of the 11,000 county callers who each month use car phones to call CHP and report accidents, robberies or motorists in distress, Hoganson said.

Cheek received a wooden plaque, a commendation from Mayor Maureen O’Connor and one month of free phone time for his help in the arrests.

He helped capture the thieves by following them on the freeway for about half an hour and giving CHP dispatchers the license plate numbers, CHP officials said.

When a CHP officer arrived and pulled over the stolen car, Cheek remained at the scene to make sure there would be no trouble.

But, even with all the praise, Cheek, who is retired from the Navy, said he was just doing what anyone who once had their car stolen would do.

“I get irritated by all these criminals out here,” he said. “I don’t feel like a hero. I just feel like a person who got involved, and I wish more people would.”