QUILCENE — A Toppenish man was arrested while driving a car on Center Road north of Quilcene that had been reported stolen.
Michael Myron Littlebrave, 30, had two women and a 3-year-old boy riding as passengers in the car when he was arrested Thursday night.
Littlebrave was booked into the Jefferson County jail for investigation of second-degree theft of a motor vehicle and driving with a license suspended or revoked.
He remained in custody on $10,000 bond Saturday.
Sheriff’s deputies stopped the 2008 Chevrolet Impala along Center Road near Lake Tarboo Road at about 5 p.m. after a Jefferson County deputy confirmed it had been reported stolen, said Detective Ryan Menday with the Sheriff’s Office.
Keys in ignition
Menday said Toppenish police told deputies that Littlebrave reportedly took the car from a school parking lot in Toppenish after the owner left it running with the keys in the ignition.
“[Littlebrave] is denying that he actually stole the car,” Menday said. “He’s telling us he got it from a friend.”
Menday said Littlebrave and one of the women later found in the car drove from Toppenish to Quilcene and picked up the third woman, a family member of Littlebrave’s, and the boy she was caring for.
Menday said investigators had no indication Friday whether any of the car’s passengers knew the car had been reported stolen.
“The investigation is ongoing,” Menday said.
“If we determine through investigation that the other individuals in the car had knowledge it was stolen, they could be facing charges.”
The child was returned to the custody of the Quilcene woman, Menday added.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.