Ventura police arrest two men for prowling at local businesses

VENTURA, Calif. - Ventura police responded to two separate calls early Sunday morning of suspicious subjects prowling around businesses and attempting to steal.

The first call came in around 1:60 a.m. from an alarm company that reported a video alarm going off at Ocean Honda on Auto Center Drive. The video showed a person walking around the property and checking the door handles on vehicles.

Officers were dispatched to the dealership and, after an extensive search, successfully located Keith Dalzell who was hiding on the property. Dalzell was taken into custody and arrested for prowling.

Dalzell was found to have prior convictions of prowling, unlawful tampering of a vehicle, resisting arrest, being under the influence of drugs and the possession of paraphernalia.

The second call came in just before 4:00 a.m. from an employee at Cal Coast Motor Sports on Walker Street. The employee said they saw a person on video walking inside the fenced area of the business.

When the officers arrived, they found the suspect running away from the business. After a short foot chase, the officers caught suspect Arturo Panchi and took him into custody.

An investigation revealed that Panchi was on the property attempting to steal gas from the business. He was arrested for prowling, resisting arrest, petty theft and for a warrant.

Panchi was found to have previous convictions of petty theft, possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, destroying evidence and evading arrest.

Ventura police said no officers were injured during this incident.