Alleged Car Thief Arrested

A North Hollywood man was arrested Thursday while reporting hit-and-run damage to his vehicle, which had been reported stolen from a Calabasas car dealership, sheriff's officials said.

About 2:30 p.m., Francisco Flores, 27, walked into the Los Angeles Police Department's North Hollywood station to report his vehicle had been damaged by a hit-and-run driver, Sgt. Derrick Alfred of the Malibu/Lost Hills sheriff's station said.

Police ran a routine check of the vehicle identification number and found the car had been reported stolen Dec. 15 from a car dealership in Calabasas, Alfred said.

Flores was held at the North Hollywood station until sheriff's deputies arrived and took him and the vehicle into custody, Alfred said. Officials believe Flores went to the dealership Sept. 30 to look at vehicles and began the process of purchasing the 2007 Acura TL.

"When the paperwork was finished, suspect Flores wrote a check for the deposit and drove the car off the lot," Alfred said in a statement. "It was quickly discovered that the check had been drawn on a closed checking account that had previously belonged to ... Flores."

Alfred said officials at the lot had been trying to repossess the car for two months before reporting it stolen.

Flores was booked on suspicion of passing a check with intent to defraud. He is being held in lieu of $20,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.

—City News Service