SIMI VALLEY : Owner Foils Attempt to Steal His Car

An Ojai man stopped a teen-ager from stealing his car in Simi Valley by jumping on the moving vehicle’s hood and climbing in through the sunroof, authorities said.

But the car crashed into a telephone pole when the would-be thief bolted.

Simi Valley police on Monday used a K-9 team to find the 17-year-old Oxnard suspect, who fled on foot. They also detained and released a 20-year-old Oxnard man who had been with the teen-ager before the incident.

The car owner, Dennis Honey, 24, of Ojai, struck his head in the collision but refused medical treatment.

Police said Honey parked his 1982 Saab at the 7-Eleven store at Los Angeles and Yosemite avenues at 12:53 p.m. Monday and left his keys in the vehicle. They said the suspect entered the Saab and was starting to drive away when Honey jumped onto the hood.

Eventually Honey climbed into the car through the sunroof, causing the teen-ager to abandon the moving vehicle on eastbound Los Angeles Avenue, where it struck a utility pole.

The suspect fled the area, but Officer Sterling Johnson and his K-9 partner, Charlie, eventually found him in a receiving dock area at the Wambold Furniture Corp. at 6800 Smith Road.