Raceway victimized by grand theft tire

Stolen race-car wheels found on Craigslist|

A Petaluma man was arrested Tuesday on charges of grand theft after Sheriff’s detectives located stolen racing wheels.

The investigation began on Feb. 23 when a victim, who works for a racing company at Sonoma Raceway, reported eight customized racing wheels, valued at about $6,000, stolen from his garage. The theft actually occurred in November or December of 2017 but the victim reported the crime to the Sheriff’s Office after spotting the wheels for sale on Craigslist.

Detectives contacted the Craigslist seller and made an appointment with him to purchase the wheels for $800. The detectives contacted the seller in Novato and recovered four stolen tires. The seller said he was given the tires by the suspect, 49-year-old Jordan Slater, of Petaluma, who is a mechanic at another business at Sonoma Raceway. Slater gave the seller the tires in exchange for some discounted auto parts.

The Craigslist seller didn’t know the wheels were stolen as Slater said they were just extra wheels from his garage that nobody was using. The Craigslist seller was not deemed to be a suspect in this crime.

Detectives served a search warrant at Slater’s home in the 900 block of Ely Boulevard in Petaluma on Tuesday. They weren’t able to locate the victim’s four remaining stolen tires but they did arrest Slater and booked him into the Sonoma County Jail for grand theft charges. He has since been released on $5,000 bail.

If anyone knows the whereabouts of the four remaining wheels, contact Sheriff’s detectives at 565-2185.

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