3 Men Arrested Over Car-Stripping Insurance Fraud

Three men were arrested for stripping a car after one of them had reported it stolen in November so he could collect insurance, Simi Valley police said Saturday.

Simi Valley residents Eric Balladares, Josh Adams and Courtland Keeler are being held at the County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail each, East Valley sheriff’s officials said.

Officers arrested Balladares, 21, and Adams, 19, about 11:35 p.m. Friday after a short car chase, police said. Keeler, 21, was arrested 20 minutes later after fleeing on foot, police said.

The owner of the car, Balladares, reported it stolen so the trio could salvage the parts before dumping it and collecting the insurance money, police said.

The Simi Valley Police Department gave this account of events leading to the arrests:

Sometime Friday, police received a tip that a 1990 Chevrolet Camaro, which was reported stolen Nov. 27, 1991, was in a garage in the 2500 block of Callahan Avenue.

A surveillance unit saw the garage door of the house open about 11:30 p.m. and the stripped Camaro, followed by a second car, drive north on Callahan Avenue.

When both cars stopped in the 1700 block of Mayfair Street, police identified themselves.

At that point, one of the two suspects in the second car got out and ran. The driver of the Camaro got into the second car, which sped away from the scene.

Less than a minute later, police stopped the car and the two occupants, Balladares and Adams, were arrested.

The Camaro is valued at about $11,000, police said.