Alleged ‘hot prowl’ in Stevenson Ranch results in recovered vehicle, arrest

An alleged ‘hot prowl’ and Mercedes theft earlier this week in Stevenson Ranch ended in an arrest due to the vehicle having a GPS locator that deputies could follow in real time.

Shortly before 10 a.m. Tuesday, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station dispatchers received a call from a resident living on the 25000 block of Sargasso Court. The caller reported that someone had only moments earlier been burglarized while still in his own home, also known as a “hot prowl.”

“The wife leaves, the suspect goes in, rummages around, and doesn’t know the husband is still inside the house,” said Sgt. Brian Shreves, who leads the Sheriff’s Station Detective Bureau.

The alleged burglar, realizing he might not be alone in the house, then took the resident’s car keys and fled the home, using the keys to drive away in the Mercedes parked in front of the house, Shreves said.

The victim, along with his neighbors — who knew something was wrong when they witnessed the suspect drive away in the car — immediately reported the crime to law enforcement personnel, said Shreves.

Deputies, using the car’s internal GPS tracking system, were able to quickly pinpoint the vehicle’s location, track it down to the 25000 block of The Old Road, and have the suspect arrested and booked within three hours of the original call.

Three people were in the car and detained, but only the 26-year-old man from Newhall, who is suspected as having been the one who went into the home and grabbed the keys, was arrested. He was booked on suspicion of burglary, grand theft auto, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of methamphetamine and being under the influence.