Pursuit comes to crashing conclusion in Simi




WRECKED—A Simi Valley resident is accused of assaulting his father, stealing a truck and crashing into parked cars on June 27. Courtesy of Mark Lassman

WRECKED—A Simi Valley resident is accused of assaulting his father, stealing a truck and crashing into parked cars on June 27. Courtesy of Mark Lassman

A Simi Valley man is facing various charges following an alleged assault and pursuit that began in Thousand Oaks and ended in Simi last weekend.

Matthew Ord, 31, pleaded not guilty June 29 to first-degree residential robbery, false imprisonment, elder abuse, unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle, and evading law enforcement, all felonies, according to Ventura County court records. He also pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor driving under the influence.

During the June 29 arraignment, the court issued a protective order that bars Ord from contacting his father, who Ord is accused of assaulting on June 27, according to court records.

On June 27, police say, Ord stole his father’s truck after assaulting him in the 2600 block of Sunset Hills Boulevard in T.O. Around 7 p.m., the sheriff’s office received reports that a white Ford F-150 truck had crashed into a fence and continued driving.

Ventura County sheriff’s Sgt. Tim Lohman said a deputy saw the vehicle in question on the 118 Freeway at Princeton Avenue.

Instead of yielding for a traffic stop, Ord continued east on the freeway, exited at Tapo Canyon Road and headed south toward Royal Avenue, Lohman said.

Simi Valley Police Cmdr. Steve Shorts said the department received a request for assistance from VCSO around 7:30 p.m. to deploy a spike strip in an attempt to stop the truck, but authorities lost sight of it for a short time.

A few minutes later, SVPD received reports of a traffic collision at Patricia Avenue and Duncan Street, Shorts said.

“Apparently, the suspect sideswiped a car trying to negotiate a turn into the nearby apartment complex, causing the suspect to lose control and hit a fire hydrant and five parked cars,” Shorts said.

There was no one in the cars at the time, he said.

Ord was arrested on suspicion of second-degree robbery, elder abuse, false imprisonment, stealing a vehicle, driving under the influence, evading law enforcement and assault causing great bodily injury. As of Wednesday he was being held at the Ventura County Main Jail with bail set at $150,000.

He’s scheduled to appear in court July 7 for an early disposition hearing.