July 12, 2020 – Ventura County, Ca.
29-year-old Los Angeles resident Noemi Rangel may be a lousy thief, but she’s apparently a
talented stunt driver and track star.
Evidence of Rangel’s skills became the focus of attention on the afternoon of July 6th when,
according to California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Ryan Ayers, CHP officers who
“happened to be in the area” spotted Rangel “running out of a Kohl’s Department Store with a
suitcase.”
She was then observed hopping into a van and speeding off through the store’s parking lot “hitting two other vehicles in the process.”
Reasonably alerted to something being amiss, the CHP officers followed Rangel’s van for a
considerable distance as she changed directions in her route of travel multiple times, eventually
winding up at a dead end.
Faced with the CHP units behind her and nowhere to turn, Rangel then “crashed through the gate of a driveway” for a commercial center, then quickly hanging a U-turn in an attempt to turn up an onramp leading to State Highway 23, ultimately crashing the van to a halt.
At that point, Rangel fled on foot, whereupon the pursuing CHP officers alerted Ventura County
Sheriff’s Department deputies for assistance. Moments later, VCSD deputies and a K-9 unit
were on the scene and a brief search ensued.
Rangel was contacted, taken into custody, and then transported to Los Robles Regional Medical Center for treatment of injuries “suffered during the arrest.”
She was then transported to Ventura County Jail, where she was booked on charges of commercial burglary, vehicle theft, probation violation, and evading an officer, with her bail set at $296,000.
Photo: Courtesy California Highway Patrol
