NORTH HOLLYWOOD : Woman in Stolen Car Is Sentenced
A woman who was arrested in a stolen car by a Los Angeles police officer working with a North Hollywood Neighborhood Watch group was sentenced to 30 days on a Caltrans crew after she pleaded guilty in the case, authorities said Wednesday.
The arrest and conviction of Estella Luz Villatoro, 23, of Oxnard is “an example of community policing in action,” City Atty. James K. Hahn said in a statement.
Villatoro and Alfredo Gutierrez, 20, of North Hollywood were arrested the night of May 30 as they sat in the stolen car, a 1992 Buick Regal, which was parked at the curb in the 13000 block of Greenleaf Street, city attorneys said.
The arresting officer was on patrol with three Neighborhood Watch members when they noticed that either Villatoro or Gutierrez tried to duck out of sight when their squad car passed by. One of the watch members ran a check of the license plate and determined that the car had been reported stolen two days earlier, the city attorney’s office said.
Villatoro was sentenced late Tuesday to one count of using a vehicle without the owner’s consent, and was placed on two years summary probation.
Gutierrez has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial this month in Van Nuys Municipal Court.
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