Alleged car thief remains behind bars while police look for second suspect

A 22-year-old man from Desert Hot Springs is reported to be in custody this morning on suspicion of several crimes, including auto theft.

Twenty-two-year-old probationer Victor Ortiz Perez was allegedly one of two men in a 2010 Toyota Highlander that was stolen in Palm Desert Friday afternoon and chased by sheriff’s deputies to Cathedral City, where it was recovered.

Deputies received a radio call at 4:55 p.m. Friday that the stolen sport utility vehicle had been seen near Cook Street and Gerald Ford Drive in Palm Desert. The driver failed to pull over, Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Patrick Carroll said.

He was chased to the area of Brookview Way and Camrose Drive in Cathedral City, where a man later identified as Ortiz and another suspect jumped out of the SUV and ran.

Ortiz was caught a short distance away but the second suspect remained at large, Carroll said.

Ortiz remains jailed in lieu of $25,000 bail.