Scraping ice off car windows is not normally thought to be crime-inciting behavior.
But according to Denver police and prosecutors, when Marina Pena and two of her companions saw a 50-year-old man scraping his car windows on Friday, they couldn’t resist hijacking his car.
Pena jumped into the driver’s side of the car, and a juvenile girl got into the passenger side while a male accomplice acted as “lookout,” police said. As the motorist called 911 on his cellphone, the 18-year-old Pena drove off.
In a short time, Pena crashed the car into “curbs, trees and three parked vehicles,” police said.
Pena, who has a suspended driver’s license, so badly damaged the car that it became inoperable, according to police.
In addition, the three cars she allegedly hit also received considerable damage.
Pena and her two friends fled on foot after crashing the car but were quickly apprehended. Most of the action occurred in the 3400 block of South Lowell Boulevard.
Pena, of Highlands Ranch, was charged Wednesday with aggravated motor-vehicle theft, three counts of leaving the scene of an accident and three counts of “duty to report striking an unattended vehicle.”
Pena has been released on a $5,000 bond. She is to appear in court Oct. 26 to be advised of the charges.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
