Car Thief Nearly Hits Pursuer; Suspect Held

LAGUNA NIGUEL — A 33-year-old man was in custody Thursday on suspicion of car theft, burglary and assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly stealing a purse from a church and nearly hitting a pursuer with a stolen car, officials said.

Donald Stacy Matthews, residence unknown, was being held at the Orange County Jail after being arrested at a Target store in Aliso Viejo, Sheriff’s Lt. Ron Wilkerson said. The stolen car and purse were found in the parking lot.

Matthews is suspected of stealing a purse left on a couch at Mission Lutheran Church in Laguna Niguel and fleeing in a stolen car, nearly hitting one of the people chasing him, Wilkerson said. Minutes later, a deputy saw a man in the Target parking lot matching the description of thief, he said.

Deputies evacuated the store for the hourlong search and a police dog “found and extracted” the suspect from a stack of cardboard boxes, Wilkerson said.