BEAVER — A Port Angeles man was arrested in Beaver on Wednesday after a State Patrol trooper noticed that the car he was sitting in matched the description of one that had been stolen from a home near Port Angeles on Sunday.
Jonathan M. Laine, 29, was in the driver’s seat of the 2004 silver Mustang — a convertible with a black top — near the Lake Pleasant Grocery Store when Trooper Eric Tilton noticed it at about 1 p.m. and checked the license plate number.
“Lo and behold, it was the stolen car,” said Trooper Krista Hedstrom, State Patrol spokeswoman.
Laine was arrested on investigation of automobile theft and booked into the Clallam County jail, where he remained late Wednesday. Bail had not been set on Wednesday.
Police patch found
In the Mustang, the trooper found a police patch — such as the ones worn by officers — as well as a bullet-proof vest, Hedstrom said, adding she had no more information about the items.
The woman who owned the car told the State Patrol that those items were not hers. Hedstrom did not know the name of the woman.
In addition to the vehicle, several other items were stolen from her home, which is in unincorporated Clallam County near Port Angeles. Hedstrom had no other information about the location of the house.
It was unclear whether any of the other stolen items had been recovered.
“He had been staying with the victim and on Jan. 3, she woke up and the car was gone,” said Hedstrom.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the theft.
The car had suffered some damage to the hood and passenger’s side at about 8 a.m. Wednesday when Laine was driving and struck a guardrail, Hedstrom said.
“He admitted that he had been in a wreck, and will be cited for that as well,” she said.
“This case is a good example of the excellent observation of our trooper.
“It is fairly common, so it isn’t something that stands out.”
A 27-year-old woman who lives in Forks was also in the Mustang, but troopers determined she was not involved in the thefts and she was released. Hedstrom did not identify her.
