A Ventura woman left her car running in her driveway as she ran inside her residence on the 6600 block of Partridge Drive at about 8:50 a.m. Monday. She witnessed a suspect enter her vehicle and drive away. She called police to report the theft.
A responding officer quickly located the stolen vehicle and the suspect, and began pursuing. Other marked patrol units joined the pursuit. The suspect did not yield to the lights and sirens and drove south toward Oxnard.
At one point the suspect failed to stop for a red light at an intersection and later drove onto the dirt shoulder of a roadway. Police decided to terminate the pursuit due to the reckless behavior of the suspect.
Oxnard Police and the Ventura County Auto Theft Taskforce were notified, and a detective saw the stolen vehicle parked and unoccupied near Ivanhoe and Lions Gate in Oxnard. An Oxnard police officer saw a man matching the suspect's description walking in the area.
The man confirmed to be the suspect, 41-year-old Ventura resident Eddie Wysel, was arrested for unlawful taking of a vehicle and felony evading. He was already on active felony probation in Ventura County for possession of stolen property.
The Ventura Police Department reminds the public not to leave unattended vehicles unlocked and running.
