Maybe an older injured pickup owner should have called for law enforcement help before trying to recover his stolen vehicle on his own.
Felony charges are expected to be filed Monday against a woman ex-con already on probation who allegedly stole the pickup truck and then drove it into the owner when he found her with the aid of an anti-theft tracking device in the vehicle.
Sabrina Lynn Redfern, 28, was booked into the Southwest Detention Center in the Riverside County city of Murrieta Thursday following a Riverside County sheriff’s investigation. She’s being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. David Cardoza, Redfern allegedly took the Dodge Ram pickup from the victim’s residence on Wednesday evening.
Cardoza said that the man, whose identity and age were not released, is older, and one of the eventual charges included elder abuse, in addition to the theft-connected allegations and possession of meth.
The man had an anti-theft tracking device installed and was able to locate the vehicle on his mobile phone using a GPS application.
Early Thursday, the victim saw that the pickup was in the 20000 block of Little Valley Road in Good Hope, just northeast of Lake Elsinore, and drove to the location, where he spotted his truck — with Redfern at the wheel, Cardoza alleged.
“As the victim approached his vehicle, the suspect accelerated at him, pushed him to the ground with the front bumper of the stolen truck and fled the scene,” the sergeant said.
The man suffered minor injuries but continued to track his truck, which ended up in the parking lot of a shopping center on Central Avenue in Lake Elsinore, according to Cardoza. He said the man finally called 911 about 8 a.m., summoning deputies to arrest the alleged thief before she left the area.
Deputies arrived as Redfern was allegedly heading out of the parking lot and stopped her, taking the convicted felon into custody without incident, Cardoza said.
The victim received first aid treatment at the scene but did not require hospitalization.
Redfern was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, being in possession of methamphetamine and probation violations.
According to court records, she has prior convictions for child abuse and public intoxication.