A Cathedral City man was behind bars today on suspicion of stealing a pickup truck and putting stolen plates on it, a police sergeant said.
A Desert Hot Springs police officer stopped a gray 1993 Nissan pickup truck for traffic violations at Mesquite and Hacienda avenues about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, and found that the DMV’s information for the license plate did not match the vehicle, Sgt. Gabriela Mendoza said.
The officer discovered that the license plates were reported stolen to Cathedral City police Tuesday, Mendoza said.
“Further investigation revealed the vehicle itself was stolen, from the same general area as the license plates, two days ago,” Mendoza said.
The officer arrested the pickup’s driver, 29-year-old Aaron Garcia Meza, who lives in the same neighborhood where the thefts occurred, Mendoza said.
Meza was arrested on suspicion of multiple thefts and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He was booked at the Larry D. Smith Correctional facility in Banning, where he is being held in lieu of $5,000 bail. He is expected to be arraigned Friday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Anyone with information about the the stolen vehicle and plates was asked to contact Mendoza at 760)-329-2904, ext. 326.
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