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Note to self: check both plates on stolen car

 

Professional Criminal Hint 101: If you're going to drive a stolen vehicle you should probably make sure the license plates on the front and rear match, so as not to draw undue attention from officers of the law.

The concept of using matching plates on a hot car apparently didn't occur to criminal neophyte, 29-year-old Jose Pulido of Sonoma.

Pulled over by a Sheriff's deputy on routine patrol in the 18000 block of Manzanita Lane at about 10 a.m., on April 7, the lack of front-rear plate conformity presented an immediate problem for Pulido. That's because the deputy - as deputies are wont to do - ran a records check on the vehicle which, it turned out, had been reported stolen in San Leandro.

Pulido told the deputy he bought the vehicle from someone whose name he didn't remember for $7,000. But, once again, the issue of synchronicity reared its ugly head. According to the police report, a passenger in Pulido's purloined ride offered a different version of events. Pulido was subsequently charged with a tapestry of interconnected, perfectly synchronized crimes - possession of a stolen vehicle, felony probation violation and driving with a suspended license. He was booked into the county jail

In other incidents reported to local law enforcement:

Wednesday, April 6:

5:34 p.m. - "Stolen" children stay in Mexico. A Fuente Lane resident reported that her two children had been "stolen" by their father. The woman told deputies that in December, her two sons, ages 10 and 12, returned to Mexico with their father, ostensibly for a vacation and to renew the boys' visas. After the holidays, the children didn't return and the woman got in touch with the father the first part of April and was told the boys would be staying in Mexico. The woman has no custody order from Mexico but she wanted a report filed.

Thursday, April 8:

7:39 a.m. - Mayhem over mismatched socks. Deputies were called to a disturbance in the 10 block of Maple Avenue after receiving a report that a 17-year-old girl was involved in an argument with her mother. The teen was reportedly upset with her mother because she couldn't find two socks that matched. The sartorially-sensitive young woman apparently turned over furniture in the house and broke a glass in the kitchen. She was arrested on charges of misdemeanor vandalism and was taken to juvenile hall.

7:55 p.m. - Juvie trip for gang contact. During a probation search by MAGNET officers at a residence in the 100 block of Pierce Drive, members of the special gang enforcement team found paraphernalia and other items that confirmed the 16-year-old male still had gang contacts despite being prohibited from gang associations by juvenile court. The teen received a ride to juvenile hall for a probation violation.

Friday, April 9:

3:23 a.m. - Drunk, on probation, no MMD card. Deputies dispatched to the scene of a reported fight, in the 800 block of Center Street, didn't find the fracas but they did spot a walking man supporting a very intoxicated woman. It didn't take deputies long to discover that the 29-year-old woman was on probation for a DUI, which gave them the right to conduct a search of her person. Said search led to the discovery of a small glass jar of marijuana, but no accompanying medical marijuana card. The woman was arrested on charges of public intoxication, a probation violation and possession of less than 28.5 grams of marijuana.

1:48 p.m. - Illegal use of a cane. A 67-year-old El Verano man ended up in jail after apparently hitting a neighbor with his cane. Deputies were sent to a residence in the 18900 block of Highway 12 after a dispute between two neighbors turned physical. Deputies met with the suspect first, who told them about the dispute, but neglected to mention hitting the neighbor with his cane. When deputies talked to the victim, who had a cut above his eye, they heard pretty much the same story, except the victim added the part about being hit with the suspect's cane. The suspect nevertheless denied hitting the man with his bloodied cane, but deputies arrested Steven Whittaker, on charges of felony assault with a deadly weapon.

Saturday, April 10:

3:58 p.m. - 125 pounds of quarters? The owner of a coin-operated laundry in the 18900 bock of Highway 12 reported that, sometime over the past 24 hours, someone broke into four video games and got away with an estimated $2,500 in quarters and a surge protector. There was no forcible entry to the facility. Since $2,500 equals 10,000 quarters which, at 5.67 grams per quarter, would weigh a total of about 125 pounds, that means the thief or thieves either had very big pockets, some very hefty bags, a hand-truck or a nearby getaway vehicle.

4:19 p.m. - Cash and jewelry gone. A resident in the 17900 block of Spring Street reported that the home was burglarized of cash and jewelry. The residence was locked at the time and there was no sign of forced entry, but the burglar may have been able to enter the house through the garage door.

9:41 p.m. - Runaway truck stereo. A resident in the 300 block of Meadowood Lane reported that someone stole the stereo out of his truck. A witness saw somebody running from the vicinity of the truck, but couldn't provide a description.

Sunday, April 12:

2:39 p.m. - Flower bed row. Another dispute between two female neighbors landed one in jail on battery charges. The neighbors, in the 17400 block of Keaton Avenue, share a driveway and that, sheriff's deputies reported, is what started the argument. One of the neighbors was building a flower bed in the common area of the driveway while the other neighbor started filming the woman who was building the flower bed. The woman doing the planting apparently objected to being the object of a video, approached the neighbor and slapped the video camera out of her hands. The would-be videographer then slapped the woman doing the planting and walked away. The aggrieved planter swore out a citizen's arrest on her 56-year-old neighbor on charges of battery.