VENTURA COUNTY ROUNDUP : Simi Valley : Man Suspected of Carjacking Held

Police apprehended a Simi Valley man suspected of kidnapping, carjacking and robbery after a 30-minute car chase that exceeded speeds of 100 mph.

The chase started when Christopher Evangelista Scull, 20, fled from a Santa Paula residence that police had under surveillance, authorities said. Outside the home, officers had spotted a car stolen Sunday from a Thousand Oaks man.

At about 3 p.m. Scull drove the white late-model Pontiac Grand Prix on California 126 until Wells Road, where he exited and headed north and then west toward downtown Ventura at excessive speed, police said.

Police blocked off intersections along Telegragh Road to prevent accidents.

Scull got on the Ventura Freeway at Oak Street, drove north and then jumped the median and drove back south on the freeway where he gave up around the Central Avenue exit, according to Ventura Police Sgt. Quinn Fenwick.

“His engine practically burned up; it overheated due to the high speed of the vehicle,” said Ventura Police Sgt. Tom Taylor.

At least eight police cars were involved in the chase.

Scull was suspected of carjacking a motorist Sunday in west Ventura, forcing him to withdraw cash from an ATM and locking him in the trunk before driving him to the San Fernando Valley. The victim escaped during a halt in traffic near Granada Hills.

The suspect, who was wanted on a $250,000 arrest warrant, remained jailed late Wednesday.

Traffic on the Ventura Freeway slowed to a crawl about 3:30 p.m. near Central Avenue in Camarillo and was back to normal at 4:10 p.m. The backup led to a fender bender, in which two people suffered minor injuries.

Scull was convicted of battery against a girlfriend in November 1997 and ordered to serve 10 days in jail and three years’ probation, according to court documents.

Police said Scull had a semiautomatic pistol during the chase, which may have been thrown out the window. Officials were still trying to recover the weapon late Wednesday.