Ventura Police arrest man for stealing tree-trimming truck from Aquatic Center field

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – Police said officers arrested a 41-year-old man on Friday after he stole a tree-trimming truck parked next to the Ventura Aquatic Center.

The Ventura Police Department said they arrested the man for vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle and felony vandalism.

Around 8:40 p.m. on Apr. 7, a person called police to report a man who scaled a chain link fence surrounding multiple work trucks in an open field near the Ventura Aquatic Center, and then drove a large tree-trimming truck through the fence and onto Telephone Road.

Later in the night, two Ventura Police Officers said they saw a tree-trimming truck heading west on Halifax Street and approached the vehicle.

According to police, the man turned the tree-trimming truck onto Conway Avenue and fled on foot.

Officers said they then arrested the man and booked him into Ventura County Jail for vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, and felony vandalism for destruction of the fence.