VENTURA : Alleged Auto Thieves Send Car Over Cliff
After a brief chase early Tuesday morning, two alleged car thieves abandoned their stolen vehicle and sent it plunging down a 50-foot embankment in Ventura, police said.
One male juvenile was arrested immediately after the incident, said Ventura Police Sgt. Richard Cook. Police determined the identity of the other alleged thief during the juvenile’s interrogation. The second suspect, Ventura resident John Reeder, 18, turned himself in Tuesday evening and was arrested, Cook said.
The stolen car, a 1995 Chevy Suburban, was left unlocked with the key in the ignition on Valley View Way in Ventura. The victim called police after seeing the two men near her vehicle, Cook said.
Officer Ross Nideffer observed the vehicle on Foothill Road and had pursued it for less than a minute when the suspects turned onto a side street and jumped out of the vehicle before it plunged down the cliff, Cook said. “They’re lucky they weren’t killed,” he said.
Police searching the area found the shirtless juvenile and took him into custody as the other suspect fled.
The car sustained major damage and was towed from the scene.
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