A 38-year-old Santa Ana man pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing a Ferrari 458 Spider in Costa Mesa and was immediately sentenced to nine years in prison, according to court records.
Israel Perez Rangel pleaded guilty to theft with a prior felony conviction of driving or taking of a vehicle and vandalism exceeding $400, according to court records. He acknowledged sentencing enhancement allegations of property damage exceeding $200,000. A charge of grand theft auto with a prior conviction was dismissed.
Rangel was arrested Nov. 1 after Santa Ana police were called regarding someone driving a Ferrari erratically at Dyer Road and Hotel Terrace, said Santa Ana Police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna. Rangel asked someone in the area for gas money for the expensive car at a Mobil gas station at 1361 E. Dyer Road, Bertagna said.
Rangel ran from the stolen car but was arrested hiding behind bushes near a Holiday Inn at 2726 S. Grand Ave., Bertagna said. The car had been stolen Oct. 18 from the Ferrari and Maserati of Newport Beach service center.
