Sheriff’s deputies arrested Rosanna Ramona Vindiola, 33,
resident of San Bernardino,
for possession of a stolen vehicle after she and a male accomplice were stopped a half-hour after the stolen vehicle report was made. On November 15, shortly before 4:00 a.m., a resident in the 25000 block of Moon Drive, Crestline, notified the Sheriff’s Department Emergency Dispatch Center that he just saw an unknown person driving away with his black, 1990 Jeep Cherokee. The vehicle was last seen heading in the direction of Dart Canyon Road. Deputies responded to the area and conducted an area check for the vehicle while the auto theft report was being taken. A Sheriff’s Department spokesperson told The Alpenhorn News that after the deputy had competed his report and was starting to continue the area search for the stolen vehicle, he saw the Jeep Cherokee still in the Valley of the Moon area. When the deputy attempted to stop the vehicle on Dart Canyon Road near Pyramid Road, the driver, identified only as a male wearing a black shirt, blue jeans and a black beanie, jumped out of the vehicle and ran off along what was described as a dirt path paralleling Arose Drive, leaving a female passenger in the front seat. The female, identified as Vindiola, claimed that she was picked up by the male, known only as James, in the San Bernardino area the night before, around 11:00 p.m. and they had driven to the mountain area to “drink and hang out.” Vindiola could offer no explanation how it was she was picked up in the Jeep Cherokee at 11:00 p.m., but the victim saw it being stolen from his driveway five hours. Later, Vindiola also had no explanation as to how the gas tank was still registering full if the vehicle had been driven around for five hours or more. According to documentation obtained from the San Bernardino Superior Court records, Vindiola shows past prosecution for crimes to include auto theft, burglary and possession of stolen property. Deputies continued searching for the male subject for some time, but eventually had to admit their search was unsuccessful. Due to the impossibilities of Vindiola’s version of the sequence of occurrences, deputies had reasonable suspicion to believe that Vindiola was involved in the theft of the Cherokee and was arrested for possession of stolen property. Vindiola was transported to the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino for booking. Prior to entering the jail, the deputy asked Vindiola if she had anything illegal on her person that the deputies may have missed, explained that a felony charge may be added if any such items were found after they entered the jail. Vindiola admitted she had a small pocketknife in her purse. During the search process inside the jail, a plastic baggie of suspected methamphetamine was discovered hidden in Vindiola’s purse. Vindiola denied ownership of the narcotic and claimed that she had no idea how the contraband came to be in her purse. Vindiola was booked for violation of California Penal Code (PC) Section 496d, (possession of a stolen vehicle) and violation of PC Section 4573, (bringing a controlled substance into a jail facility). Vindiola’s bail was set at $50,000. According to San Bernardino County Jail Records, obtained by The Alpenhorn News, Vindiola was released from the Sheriff’s Department custody on November 18 at 12:10 a.m. The reason for her release was listed as “court ordered release.” Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Station at (909) 336-0600. Callers wishing to remain anonymous are urged to call the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78CRIME (27463) or may leave information on the We-Tip website at www.wetip.com