Temecula Car Thief Pleads Guilty

A car thief who led deputies on a chase through Temecula pleaded guilty today.

Mark Cortland Hooper, 26, admitted to auto theft and committing a felony within the last five years, according to court records.

He was scheduled to be sentenced on July 15 at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley.  Hooper was on probation when he committed the crime, a sheriff’s official said.

Hooper and an accomplice stole a blue Lexus around 5:30 a.m. in the 27000 block of Dayton Lane, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Raul Vergara.

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The sheriff’s department broadcasted a missing car report, and other deputies spotted it going south on Ynez Road near Rancho Vista Road around 6:50 a.m., according to the sergeant.

Law enforcers tried to stop the car, but the driver sped away. Hooper pulled the car over near Santiago Road and Via Valencia, jumped out and ran. Deputies chased Hooper down and arrested him, Vergara said.

The alleged accomplice, Jese Glenn Dupuis, 26, stayed in the passenger seat while Hooper fled. He was arrested on suspicion of auto theft and violating probation.

No charges were filed on Dupuis, according to the District Attorney’s office.

Judge Jerry E. Johnson denied Hooper bail, and he was behind bars today.