Off-Duty Deputy Foils Young Carjackers

Two teenage suspects in a spree of burglaries and carjacking attempts were arrested in Lake Forest early Tuesday after they tried to steal the car of an off-duty Orange County sheriff’s deputy, authorities said.

Deputy Don Barnes, a Lake Forest patrol officer, said one of the boys ran in front of his car as he drove on El Toro Road near Raymond Way about 1 a.m.

Barnes said the teen jumped on the hood of his car and tried to distract him while the other approached the passenger door carrying a wrench.

“As it started to unfold, it looked like a textbook carjacking, almost an academy scenario,” Barnes said. “It looked like they had some criminal sophistication. They had a plan in mind.”

Barnes said the boys were “absolutely” surprised when he identified himself as a sheriff’s deputy and pulled his gun.

The two fled, but Barnes chased after them and caught one, holding him until more deputies arrived, sheriff’s officials said.

The other boy was found hiding in bushes a few blocks away, said Sgt. Fred Furey of the sheriff’s Lake Forest substation.

The two boys, both from Lake Forest, are suspects in two other carjacking attempts in the same area, Furey said. Deputies said they found credit cards and other stolen property on the suspects, linking them to a burglary at a nearby florist’s shop and thefts from two locked cars.

The teens were booked into juvenile hall on suspicion of felony burglary and attempted carjacking, he said. Authorities would not reveal the boys’ names or ages.