Daniel Mendoza and Omar Martinez
Ventura County – The laws of supply and demand have the same impact upon crime as they have in the world of legitimate trade and economics. Evidence of that comes with data reflecting the desirability of Honda Accord and Honda Civic vehicles and their place in the top two positions of the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s 2015 “Hot Wheels Report,” which tabulates the frequency at which certain autos are stolen.
Given that impressive statistic, one would think that if you were going to steal Number One on that list, you certainly wouldn’t want to be seen on the side of busy highway at 4:00 a.m. changing a flat on the purloined vehicle.
But that’s exactly what transpired in the predawn hours of January 15th, when, according to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Det. Javier Chavez, patrol deputies from the VCSD Fillmore Station observed two Hondas on the shoulder of CA 126 and 20-year-old Omar Martinez and 18-year-old Daniel Mendoza hastily attempting to change a flat tire.
When the deputies rolled up behind the two Hondas, Martinez quickly hopped into one of them and tried to drive off, somewhat hampered by the car’s flat tire.
A brief vehicular pursuit followed, punctuated by the fact that Martinez “was unable to maintain control and collided into the center guardrail a short distance away.” Martinez was summarily taken into custody at that point while the car driven by Mendoza was found to have multiple keys attached to the ignition keyring.
When questioned about the vehicles’ ownership, both suspects came up with less-than-convincing retorts, whereupon they were arrested on the scene, and transported to Ventura County Jail where they were booked on charges of conspiracy, possession of burglary tools, and grand theft of a vehicle.
Photos: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
