Car Thieves Caught After Murrieta Couple Wakes Up to Stolen Truck, Police Say

Two people were in custody early Tuesday morning after police say they stole a truck from the driveway of a Murrieta home while in possession of illegal drugs.

The suspects, 42-year-old Shannon Calhoon of Sun City, and 41-year-old Christopher Luna of Los Angeles, were located after a brief police pursuit and found in possession of drug paraphernalia, burglary tools and hypodermic needles.

Calhoon was additionally booked on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine and violating her probation.

The alleged theft occurred when residents in the 40300 block of Via Reata awoke to sound of their dogs barking at 3:45 a.m. When the victim looked outside, he noticed his Ford F350 was missing, said Murrieta police Sgt. Robert Anderson in a news release.

While the man attempted to chase the suspects in his other vehicle, the wife called police to report the theft.

The victim eventually found and then lost sight of the suspects driving his vehicle near California Oaks and Lincoln, the sergeant said.

"About 15 minutes after the victim lost sight of his truck, Murrieta officers Dave Lawlor and Kyle Mikowski located the victim’s truck at the intersection of California Oaks and Clinton Keith," Anderson said.

"The victim’s truck was being closely followed by a second white Ford F350 pick-up truck. As the officers approached, both trucks split up turning in opposite directions on Clinton Keith. The officers stayed with the victim’s stolen truck, eventually stopping it on Interstate 15 near Clinton Keith." 

Both suspects were booked on suspicion of the mentioned charges, as well as auto theft, at Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta.

Luna was being held in lieu of $5,000 bail. No bail information was available for Calhoon.