Ventura – When Ventura Police Department’s Command Center received word from what the VPD Watch Commander described to the media as “an alert citizen” that a pair of men were busy at work trying to break into parked vehicles on the morning of November 13th, responding patrol officers showed up at the scene to find that both suspects had fled the area.
But, based upon witness descriptions of the alleged perpetrators, those same patrol officers conducted a search of the area and spotted Miguel Hernandez, a 25-year-old Ventura resident driving away from the area and conducted a traffic stop so that they could have a brief chat with him. That conversation apparently did not go well for Hernandez, as “officers were able to confirm he was one of the suspects” who had been reported as making a serious and concerted attempt to force his way into vehicles parked on the city streets.
Perhaps one of the indications the officers questioning Hernandez had of his involvement in the alleged break-in attempts was his possession of “shaved” keys, commonly used by vehicle burglars in the pursuit of their criminal activity. Based upon that evidence and witness reports, the car Hernandez was driving was impounded and he was transported to Ventura County Jail, where he was booked on charges of attempted burglary from a vehicle and possession of burglary tools.
Three days later, while Hernandez was enjoying the accommodations and service provided by VCOJ staff, he was arrested again, pursuant to the discovery by law enforcement that the car Hernandez was driving at the time of his earlier arrest had, in fact, been stolen in the City of Oxnard just days prior. While the vehicle in question was released from impound and returned to its rightful owner, Hernandez was charged with the additional crime of being in possession of a stolen vehicle.
