Man Wounded in Westlake Chases Would-Be Robbers : Crime: Despite injury, restaurant owner gives pursuit while calling sheriff’s deputies on car phone, authorities say.

Despite a bullet wound in his neck, a Westlake restaurant owner chased two would-be robbers Thursday night while summoning sheriff’s deputies with his car phone, authorities said.

Deputies captured two suspects an hour later at a Thousand Oaks fast-food restaurant after the suspects had abandoned their car and hid in a dumpster and a phone booth, authorities said.

The victim, Almoez Megji, 35, of Calabasas, was taken to Los Robles Regional Medical Center, and was discharged Friday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

“We’re going to see if we can recruit him,” Sheriff’s Cmdr. Kathy Kemp said of Megji, who owns Fins Seafood Grill on Westlake Boulevard. “We need that kind of stick-to-itiveness.” The suspects, Henry Mabalot, 20, and a 17-year-old, both of Oxnard, remained in custody late Friday.

Authorities said Megji’s ordeal began about 10:30 p.m. Thursday as he walked to his car in the parking lot outside his restaurant.

The two suspects confronted him, pulled a .22-caliber pistol and demanded money, according to police reports. But before Megji could react, Mabalot shot him in the neck, authorities said. Mabalot ran to a car driven by his teen-age companion and fled, officials said.

While Megji chased the men north on the Ventura Freeway, he described them, their car and their location to a sheriff’s dispatcher.

“He was on the phone giving us a play-by-play,” Sheriff’s Lt. Bill Montijo said. “I think it was very heroic.”

Megji followed the suspects off the Ventu Park Road exit but lost them. He ended up in an industrial area of Newbury Park, where deputies found him shortly before 11 p.m., Montijo said. He said the bullet appeared to have grazed Megji’s cheek and struck him in the neck.

Megji could not be reached for comment.

Montijo said 15 deputies discovered the suspects at a Del Taco on Ventu Park Road just north of the freeway--one in a phone booth and one in a trash dumpster.

Kemp lauded Megji for his bravery and tenacity.

“This is the absolute extreme of being proactive and getting involved,” she said. “Oftentimes, we can’t even get people to identify witnesses to make an arrest.

“This man just didn’t let go,” Kemp said. “He basically said, ‘If you guys are going to make me a victim, I’m going to put you in jail.’ ”