Ventura County – Clearly reinforcing the well-publicized law enforcement agency admonition to “lock your car,” over recent weeks the residents of the City of Moorpark have been victimized by a series of property thefts from unlocked vehicles.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Darin Hendren, the suspected perpetrator of these crimes, 21-year-old Moorpark resident Jordan Kovacs, was arrested in the early morning hours of June 29th as he sat in a vehicle he didn’t own with stolen property in his pockets.
It all began with the June 27th report of “a theft from an unlocked vehicle” parked at the curb in front of the victim’s house. Missing at that scene were the victim’s wallet containing credit cards.
The ensuing investigation determined that the purloined credit card had been used at a nearby gas station just a few hours later. Video surveillance of the suspect using the credit card was obtained and detectives set to work to make an identification of the individual.
But just 48 hours later, “an alert homeowner noticed a suspicious subject” on a residential street in the wee hours of the morning scoping out the interiors of parked cars.
After a call to the cops, patrol deputies rolled onto the scene and observed Kovacs as he alighted from a parked vehicle, at which time they made personal contact with him.
It was quickly determined that Kovacs neither owned the vehicle, nor did he have the actual owner’s permission to occupy or operate the car. Further investigation on the scene revealed property belonging to that particular vehicle in Kovacs’ pocket, as well as property stolen from another unlocked vehicle in the area.
Further investigation led deputies to Kovacs’ personal vehicle, where additional stolen property was located, leading to his being transported to Ventura County Jail, where he was booked on charges of theft, possession of stolen property, burglary, and theft by access card, with his bail set at $55,000.
Photo: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
