Woman held in car wash caper

She is accused of stealing a vehicle in Simi Valley after posing as its driver.

It was a crime of opportunity: A woman dropped her vehicle off for a thorough rinse at a Simi Valley car wash Sunday, only to have it stolen by someone who pretended to be her.

But police said it was no clean getaway.

That morning, according to Cheryl Piper, 56, she had decided to take her husband’s white Ford Fusion for a much-needed scrub and rinse at her local car wash before meeting a friend for brunch in Malibu.

As Piper waited inside Simi Auto Spa & Speed Wash, she looked out and noticed the doors to the car were open. Piper said she thought workers were still detailing the car, so she looked down at her cellphone to send a text message.

“Literally, it was like two seconds,” she said.

When Piper glanced up, she saw the car driving off the property.

At first, she thought someone had accidentally driven off in her husband’s car. But dread soon set in.

“Then I thought, ‘On my God, the car is gone,’ ” Piper said.

According to Simi Valley police, a car wash worker had signaled that the sparkling car was ready. A woman, posing as the vehicle’s owner, accepted the keys and took off.

But it did not take long for the employee to figure out the mistake and realize the woman “took advantage of an opportunity to illegally take a vehicle,” police said.

After authorities were notified, an officer spotted the stolen vehicle at First Street and Los Angeles Avenue, near the car wash.

The driver, identified as Brenda Hendrix, was arrested, according to Sgt. Craig Dungan. A 33-year-old Simi Valley resident, Hendrix was booked into a Ventura County jail.

Piper said the victim had returned to the car wash to pick up her purse, which she mistakenly had left behind. In the time between when the car was stolen and found, Piper said, someone had combed through the center console and eaten snacks, leaving crumbs behind.

Piper said the owners of the car wash assured her they planned to implement new policies and procedures, but that the ordeal had not deterred her from going to a car wash in the future. If anything, she said, the incident had enlightened her.

“I just thought, ‘What an easy way to steal a car,’ ” she said. “You never think about that. It’s so easy to do it.”