SPOKANE, Wash. – Spokane Valley Deputies arrested a man after an Automated License Plate Reader identified the car he was driving as stolen.
The plate reader identified the car as stolen after reading its license plate on October 22 around 10:40 a.m. near the 5300 block of East Sprague Avenue, according to the Spokane Valley Police Department.
Spokane Regional Emergency Communications received the alert and passed it on to Spokane Valley patrol deputies, which are contracted by the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies found the car, a black 2007 Infiniti, driving west on Sprague Avenue near North Custer Road minutes after they were notified by emergency communications, the department said.
A deputy driving a fully marked patrol car turned on his emergency lights to conduct a traffic stop. The driver continued slowly rolling west on Sprague before eventually stopping near the Havana street intersection.
The deputies detained the driver and advised him of his rights. Then the driver told the deputies he had bought the car from a man named “Jay” for $500.
Deputies then read the original report about the stolen vehicle. A resident called the Spokane Police Department on October 21, 2025, saying that he parked the car in the 4100 block of East Dalke Avenue around 6:40 p.m. before losing the key fob.
The caller had told police that no one else had permission to take or drive the car.
When deputies reached back out to the man who was pulled over driving the stolen car, the man changed his story and admitted that he had found the key fob and decided to take the car.
The man said he was homeless and took the car because it was getting cold and he had nowhere to stay.
The man was arrested for Taking a Vehicle Without Permission, but deputies later found a misdemeanor warrant for his arrest, charging him with Vehicle Prowling.
Deputies also found suspected drug paraphernalia, which they seized and booked into property for destruction.
The suspect’s bond was set for $3,000.
The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, which is contracted to serve as the Spokane Valley Police Department, uses Safety to through Flock Safety’s cameras, as well as cameras voluntarily shared by people or businesses as a of the .
