3 Teens Flee Kohl's In Stolen Car As Police Give Chase: Authorities

SIMI VALLEY, CA — Three teens were arrested after police caught them with hundreds of dollars of stolen goods and a stolen vehicle in a Kohl’s parking lot, authorities said.

Simi Valley officers responded the afternoon of Aug. 8 to a license plate hit on a vehicle that had been stolen out of Cerritos and found it in the Kohl’s parking lot in the 2900 block of Tapo Canyon Road, according to police.

As officers tried to contact its two occupants, a person exited the store with an armful of clothes and entered the vehicle, which departed onto Tapo Canyon Road with police in pursuit as the trio traveled north into unincorporated Ventura County, police said. The chase ended about 12 miles into the foothills between Simi Valley and Piru at the Santa Clara Valley Gas Plant, according to police.

Eighteen-year-old Christopher Medina of Panorama City, a 16-year-old from Los Angeles and a 15-year-old from Granada Hills were taken into custody, police said, adding $734 in clothing was stolen.

Medina was booked at Ventura County jail on charges of possessing a stolen vehicle, organized retail theft, conspiracy, evading police and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to police. The two younger teens were cited and released to family on suspicion of organized retail theft and conspiracy, police said.