How many movies have you seen where the crime-fighting hero commandeers a bystander’s car, embarks on a wild chase that leads to a shootout and the capture of the crook – along with a spectacular wreck that destroys a car or 50?

But how often do you see the part where the guy who owns the commandeered vehicle is an octogenarian trying to park peacefully at a Jack in the Box who now has to deal with the hassle of paying for a rental car, paying to store the wreckage of his old car, sorting out insurance issues, and arguing with authorities over whether he really ever gave consent to have his car appropriated for heroic purposes in the first place?

That doesn’t make for such compelling screen drama, but fortunately the bar for this column is somewhat lower.

Kenneth Carrier, 80, is a retired aerospace engineer who about 9 a.m. on Dec. 13 was with his daughter, Linda Threadgold, in the parking lot of the Jack in the Box at El Toro and Rockfield. Suddenly, they saw people running across the lot, including a man waving a handgun. According to Threadgold, the man, who was not wearing a uniform, “came up to Dad’s side of the car waving the gun saying, ‘Let me have the car! … Quick! I’m a police officer!” Carrier said he asked to see identification and the man flashed a badge on his waistband, but Carrier couldn’t tell whether it was real. Carrier said both he and his daughter were frightened, and she screamed, “Let him have the car, Dad! Let him have the car!”

Carrier said he felt he had no choice. He gave up his 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara. “He commandeered the vehicle. He did not have my permission.”

It turns out the man with the gun was a security guard at the nearby AT&T store, which had just been held up, and he was chasing the man who’d robbed it. The chase ended nearby with either the Suzuki hitting a pick-up (the initial report) or a pick-up hitting the Suzuki (what the guard’s lawyer says happened).

In any case, a sheriff’s investigator who had joined the chase cornered the robber, yelled “Freeze!” according to witnesses, and then shot the man when he failed to comply. The robber has since pleaded guilty and been sentenced.

Back at the Jack-in-the Box that day, Carrier said, he “stood around wondering what to do.” Finally, a deputy took him behind the tape to show him his wrecked Vitara. “The whole right side was caved in,” Carrier recalls. An attorney representing the security company showed up and “told us not to worry, that they were going to take care of everything” regarding the wrecked SUV.

Carrier went home. A few hours later, a deputy called and said he could fetch the SUV. Carrier had the car towed to a shop. His insurance company declared it totaled and agreed to pay him $12,500.

A check finally came last week, less some expenses. What he’s left with doesn’t cover his loss, Carrier says. Those expenses include $3,200 to the storage yard and $2,300 for a rental car; plus the $250 deductible. Bottom line: Carrier can’t buy a dependable vehicle of the quality he lost with the money he’ll have left. He and his wife are living on a fixed income and don’t want to take on car payments to make up the difference. The Suzuki had been paid off.

In addition to full compensation by the security company, Carrier believes the guard should be charged with auto theft. That’s not the way the Sheriff’s Department or the guard’s attorney see it. Capt. Steve Doan told me, “I really feel for him, I do,” but Carrier’s statement at the scene was he turned over the Suzuki willingly, “so we didn’t have the elements of a crime.” If Carrier is changing his story, Doan said, it is still unlikely to result in an arrest. You can see why; the record of Carrier’s initial statement probably would be hard to overcome.

Alan Romero, attorney for the company that employed the guard, said the guard is a retired cop and called his actions “heroic.” He also says Carrier gave up the SUV willingly. Romero says he offered Carrier “full replacement value” for it and doesn’t understand why he won’t accept it. I asked Romero whether he was willing to include storage, car-rental and other expenses. He replied: “Please advise what other costs or monies the OC Register believes… my client should pay … and I will present these amounts to my client for consideration.” Glad to be of help.

Mickadeit writes Mon.-Fri. Contact him at 714-796-4994 or fmickadeit@ocregister.com