ROADSIDE STOP GETS RESULTS : MAN ARRESTED IN THEFT OF BROKEN-DOWN VEHICLE.

Byline: Laurence Darmiento Daily News Staff Writer

``Thanks, but I could have done without your help,'' was apparently the lament Thursday of a man picked up on suspicion of auto theft by sheriff's deputies.

Authorities say a 1978 Chevrolet Camaro broke down on Sand Canyon Road in front of a mobile-home park near the Antelope Valley Freeway, prompting the unwanted attention of a sheriff's deputy about 11 a.m.

``The deputy could see that the driver was having car troubles, and watched him back it up until he was parked right in the middle of the (park's) driveway,'' said Sgt. Rick Doan of the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station. ``He drove toward the vehicle to help, but also ran the plate.''

The deputy was quickly informed that the vehicle was reported stolen Aug. 4 in Palmdale. At that point, the driver either became nervous or suspected that the deputy was after him, Doan said.

He bolted out of the car, and ran down into the nearby dry bed of the Santa Clara River, prompting deputies to surround the area and mount a search, Doan said.

The driver, later identified as Dennis Dees, 29, of Mission Hills, was found about an hour later. He was arrested and booked on suspicion of auto theft. He was being held in lieu of $20,000.