Stolen-car suspect first lets victim buy him breakfast, Yavapai County Sheriff's Office says

A hitchhiker stole a Good Samaritan's car after he stopped to help him last week near Sedona, but not until he let the man buy him breakfast, the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said.

The incident occurred last Thursday about 9:15 a.m. near the Bell Rock area of Oak Creek, the Sheriff's Office said, in a statement about the incident released Monday.

A 69-year-old Sedona man who was driving in the area noticed the hitchhiker, who appeared cold and looked like he had been sleeping outside, officials said. When the man stopped to offer him assistance, the hitchhiker identified himself as "Rico'' and said he was trying to get to Mexico, the Sheriff's Office said.

According to the Sheriff's Office, the Good Samaritan bought the hitchhiker breakfast at a nearby restaurant, then offered to withdraw $20 from a nearby bank to help him out. The man drove "Rico'' to the bank, and since it was cold outside, left the hitchhiker in the car with the motor running and heat on while he went into the bank, officials said.

When he came out, both "Rico'' and the car were gone, the Sheriff's Office said.

The victim reported the incident, and a bulletin was issued statewide about the stolen car, which also contained a computer and about $500 worth of power tools, officials said.

About 3 p.m. Thursday, a state Department of Public Safety trooper spotted the car in Phoenix, heading toward Tucson on Interstate 10, officials said.

The driver refused to stop when DPS attempted to stop him, continuing for 10 miles south on I-10 before DPS deployed "stop sticks'' on the highway designed to flatten tires, officials said. The car continued another 20 miles with flattened tires before he eventually was stopped, officials said.

The man was identified as Ricardo Munoz Ayala, 31, of Phoenix. He was arrested on suspicion of unlawful flight from an officer, endangerment, unlawful use of a vehicle, driving on a suspended license and criminal damage, the Sheriff's Office said.

Sheriff's officials, in their statement about the incident, said the victim told them that he thought he "sized him up'' well and thought he was a good guy. Sheriff's officials advised the public that there is an inherent risk in such situations of becoming a victim of a robbery or assault, and suggested that it's usually "not worth the risk.''