Man Found Sleeping In Stolen Sheriff's Car In Pasadena: Police

SOUTH PASADENA, CA —

An unmarked sheriff's car stolen from a car dealership in Alhambra was found Wednesday in Pasadena, and a transient who was sleeping inside the vehicle was arrested on suspicion of grand theft auto, authorities said.

The 2016 Dodge Charger was found about 5 a.m. in the 100 block of West California Boulevard, according to sheriff's Deputy Ryan Rouzan. The car was undamaged and nothing was missing from the vehicle, he said.

Pasadena police Lt. Mark Goodman said an officer who responded to a disturbance at a supermarket on California Boulevard employed "a license plate reader which alerted the officer to the fact there was a stolen vehicle in the parking lot. The officers located the vehicle and found Mr. Hang Ha asleep in the back seat."

Ha, 43, was being held on a no-bail probation hold, Goodman said.

"I don't know if Ha was the guy who stole the car or he was just looking for a place to sleep, but he was the person in possession of the stolen vehicle so he was booked on a GTA charge," Goodman said.

The Charger was stolen about 5:30 a.m. Sunday from the Alhambra Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership at 1100 W. Main St.

Surveillance video showed a man walking into the service area of the dealership, approaching the Dodge, and then driving it away, according to Alhambra police Sgt. Steven Carr.

The vehicle has no exterior markings which would identify it as an emergency vehicle, but it is equipped with an emergency light package which includes covert red, blue and white strobe lights.

The black four-door car also is equipped with a sheriff's department radio, but contained no weapons or other emergency equipment, Carr said.

City News Service