Local man accused of trying to steal car parts

Valencia resident allegedly ran away when he spotted sheriff’s deputies

Local sheriff’s deputies arrested a man who allegedly attempted to remove parts from a vehicle at a gas station in Gorman on Thursday.

The arrest was made between 10:30 p.m. and 11 p.m., according to Shirley Miller, spokeswoman with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

While conducting a patrol on Gorman School Road, deputies came across 30-year-old Eric Cornell, a Valencia resident, with a vehicle’s hood opened up, according to a post from the SCV Sheriff’s Station’s Facebook page.

“Deputies rolled up to the area and, at first, they didn’t think much of it,” Miller said. “He appeared to be working on the engine. Once he saw the deputies, he immediately bailed. He took off and jumped into another car.”

They followed Cornell and approached him. Miller said he displayed odd behavior when asked if the other vehicle was his. With his hands covered in grease, he admitted the other car was not his, Miller said.

“He gave some faulty reasoning about somebody he knew who needed car parts for their car,” Miller said, and added the vehicle belonged to a gas station employee.

The deputies noticed Cornell was on active probation for felony charges. Inside his vehicle, they noticed he allegedly had in his possession burglary tools and heroin, deputies reported.

They then arrested Cornell on suspicion of burglary, possession of burglary tools and possession of heroin. He was then transported and booked at the SCV Sheriff’s Station jail, the Facebook post concluded.