2 Deputies Hurt in Car Chase With Youths

Two sheriff’s deputies were injured and their patrol cars damaged during a five-minute chase that ended with the apprehension of suspected juvenile car thieves Friday night.

A anonymous tip led deputies to the Thousand Oaks Teen Center, where they found a stolen car that was unoccupied, according to Sheriff’s Deputy Patricia Dreyer. Several hours later, plainclothes deputies on a stakeout watched two youths enter the car. When officers attempted to stop them, the youths fled in the car.

Dreyer and other deputies chased the youths three miles to El Morro Place and La Jolla Drive in Thousand Oaks. The youths crashed into the deputies’ cars as they attempted to make a U-turn in a cul-de-sac, Dreyer said.

Dreyer and Sgt. Dennis Carpenter were treated for minor injuries and released.

The youths, both runaways from a Utah detention center, were sought on suspicion of various other crimes in the Thousand Oaks area.

They were arrested and booked into Juvenile Hall on three counts of auto theft, and one count each of vehicle burglary, residential burglary and grand theft. Their names were withheld because they are juveniles.