When Is Someone Who Steals a Car Not a Thief?

Is a car thief a car thief if she doesn’t know she’s stolen a car?

Not in Simi Valley.

Police there took a report recently from a panicked woman who called and said a 1980-something white Toyota Camry was parked in her garage that wasn’t hers.

The woman explained that she owned a similar car. She had mistakenly driven the wrong vehicle home after doing some shopping at Costco on a cold and rainy day.

The woman didn’t realize her mistake until two days later, when she went to start the car and realized the key was a bit stiff and hard to turn.

“She senses something is wrong and then says, ‘My God, this isn’t my car,’ and calls us,” Simi Police Sgt. John McGinty said.

After giving police the license number of the car parked in her garage, the woman was told she was indeed in possession of hot property.

“You would think something else would have clued her in, like the pine tree hanging from the rear view mirror,” joked Simi Police Lt. Rex Jones.

McGinty laughed too, but was also stunned.

“It’s not something that happens every day. I mean, what are the sheer odds of another key working on the car?” he wondered.

The owner of the car--a Moorpark woman who turned out to be married to a civilian employee of the Simi Police Department--was on foot after using a pay telephone at Costco to report her missing vehicle.

Police took a report, but filed no charges. The woman who took the car returned it and went back to Costco to pick up her Camry.

“It’s a round world with square problems,” Jones said.

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Pill thieves are driving doctors and dentists buggy in Ojai.

In the last nine months, a whopping 22 burglaries have occurred at medical offices in two small plazas next to Ojai Valley Community Hospital.

The only thing being taken is small quantities of pain medication, such as the muscle relaxant Vicodin.

Ventura County Sheriff’s Det. Maureen Hookstra is baffled.

“Generally, when you have burglaries they are taking items that they can sell, like fax machines, radios and any cash that’s possibly in there,” she said.

Stolen property can sometimes be traced, but finding missing pills is trickier.

There is no pattern to the break-ins. The burglaries have occurred at all hours of the day and night.

“That’s what makes it so tough,” the detective said.

Only one arrest has been made in the 22 cases.

With guns drawn, deputies met 47-year-old Kerry Lee Richardson as he left Dr. Frederick Menninger’s office on a recent Sunday afternoon.

Although Richardson, an Ojai resident, walked out the front door, deputies said that a shattered window and the fact that he was carrying gloves and a crowbar raised their suspicions.

The break-in was the fourth at Menninger’s office since July 4. Other offices have also been burglarized more than once.

Richardson, charged with burglary, is in jail on $250,000 bail.

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This month, the Midtown Ventura Community Council celebrates the first birthday of its resource center--a place known as much for its ability to attract Ventura’s men and women in blue as for the free tutoring it offers to students.

Ventura police officers have keys to the center on Thompson Boulevard and stop by at all hours.

The draw? A spick-and-span john and a cupboard full of goodies.

“They can just come in and use the bathroom and know they won’t be stumbling onto someone they have to put handcuffs on,” said volunteer Scott Ripple, showing off a small office with a desk and paper shredder that have been designated for use by the Ventura P.D.

While writing reports and answering nature’s call, officers avail themselves of handfuls of jelly beans and peanuts and fruit juices stored in the fridge.

“I think the whole thing about the resources center is to build a relationship with citizens and come up with a mutual plan to solve problems,” explained Ventura Police Sgt. Larry White.

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Bob Brooks, the top cop in the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, is hiring a new person to deal with journalists.

And for the first time since the job of public information officer was created more than four years ago, the messenger will be a civilian.

The decision to add lay folk to the fraternity wasn’t made lightly, said Sheriff’s Capt. Keith Parks, who for 18 months has been the department’s spokesman.

But hiring a civilian will provide more consistency because sworn officers in the post routinely transfer to other departments. Parks is the third PIO in four years.

An announcement went out in early November for “Special Assistant, Public and Legislative Affairs,” and more than 100 people applied. A minimum requirement was five years of hands-on media, marketing or public relations experience.

After writing essays and answering questions from a board consisting of two commanders and a visiting public information officer, six people made the cut and sat down with Sheriff Brooks.

Parks said an offer will be made this month to one of the candidates. The job will pay from $44,000 to $63,000 a year. Parks didn’t say whether the salary package includes a key to the restroom at the midtown resource center.

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Holly J. Wolcott can be reached at Holly.Wolcott@latimes.com.

* FUGITIVES SOUGHT

The Sheriff’s Department has issued its weekly plea for help in finding wanted suspects. B3