NorCal Man Tracks Down His Stolen Car, Fights Suspected Thief

ANDERSON, Shasta County (CBS SF) – A man in a Northern California community took matters into his own hands to get his stolen car back.

Police in the city of Anderson, near Redding, said the man discovered his 1991 Honda Accord was stolen early Monday morning. After notifying police, the victim posted on Facebook that his car was gone.

About an hour later, a friend who saw the post saw the stolen Accord and contacted the victim.

Police said the friend followed the stolen car. Minutes later, the victim arrived in the area and followed the car into a court, where the suspect crashed the Accord into a concrete curb.

The suspect, later identified as 29-year-old Aaron William Ashby of Anderson, attempted to leave the scene on foot. Police said the victim tackled the suspect in an attempted citizen's arrest.

Before police arrived, a fight broke out, but the suspect was subdued by the victim and his friends.

Police said Ashby was taken to the Shasta County Jail and booked on several charges, including felony vehicle theft and felony threatening a victim of a crime.

Ashby is also charged with violating parole on a previous robbery charge.

While the department thanked those who found Ashby, police urged people not to take the law into their own hands.

"It is generally safer for citizens to contact police prior to engaging criminals," the department said on their Facebook page.

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the Honda Accord was the most stolen vehicle in the United States, with more than 50,400 vehicles taken in 2016.