Citizens Help Arrest Auburn Car Theft Suspect

AUBURN (CBS13) -- Two citizens helped in the arrest of a car-theft suspect after he struggled with law enforcement officers in the Auburn DMV office parking lot on Wednesday.

A woman called the Auburn Police Department at 11:46 a.m. to report that her car had been stolen from a business on Nevada Street, about a half-mile from the DMV office at 11722 Enterprise Drive. As the suspect, later identified as John Edward Davila, fled the Nevada Street location, he nearly collided with another vehicle, which was witnessed by an on-duty CHP officer, according to Auburn police.

The officer followed Davila, 25, into the DMV parking lot and attempted to detain him with the help of a state arson investigator who overheard radio traffic on the incident, but Davila reportedly resisted.

According to police, two citizens who witnessed the struggle then helped the law enforcement officers in detaining Davila, who is 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds.

Davila was positively identified as the theft suspect by the victim and other witnesses and arrested, police said.

The CHP officer and arson investigator suffered abrasions from the struggle with Davila, and the CHP patrol unit received a dent. Davila and the two citizens were not injured.

Davila was booked into the Placer County Jail on several felony charges.