SANTA ANA – A man begging for gas money for a $265,000 Ferrari was arrested on suspicion of stealing the luxury vehicle and taking it on a two-week joyride, authorities said Wednesday, Nov. 29.

Israel Perez Rangel, 38, was being held in the Orange County jail on suspicion of vehicle theft and grand theft auto with prior convictions and vandalism causing damages of $10,000 or more.

Rangel is suspected of stealing a 2015 Ferrari 458 from Ferrari & Maserati of Newport Beach Service Center in Costa Mesa on Wednesday, Oct. 18, said Michelle Van Der Linden, spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. The keys had been left in the vehicle, which the District Attorney’s Office valued at $265,000, and the theft was reported to Costa Mesa police the next day.

On Nov. 1, around 2:15 p.m., officers received a report that a Ferrari was driving erratically and had stopped near Dyer Road and Hotel Terrace in Santa Ana, police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.

Another caller told police the car’s driver was asking people for gas money.

Officers found the Ferrari at a Mobile gas station at 1361 E. Dyer Road. Rangel fled from the Ferrari and was arrested behind some bushes at the entrance to the Holiday Inn at 2726 S. Grand Ave., Bertagna said.

The car sustained about $50,000 in damage, including a broken gear shifter and the removal of several Ferrari emblems.

“The suspect trashed it,” Bertagna said.

Rangel is scheduled to have a pretrial hearing Dec. 18.