- LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
- Posted On
Kelseyville man arrested for vehicle theft, drug charges
Travis Jay Minor, 26, was arrested in the case, according to Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
At 1:30 p.m. Thursday, a Lake County Sheriff’s deputy was patrolling in the Middletown area when he observed a male walking in the Armstrong Street area around several vehicles behind a convenience store. The deputy believed the male was possibly tampering with the vehicles, Paulich said.
The deputy contacted the male subject who was identified as Minor. Paulich said Minor told the deputy he was stuck in Middletown because his vehicle had run out of gas and it was parked near the park.
Paulich said the deputy was familiar with Minor and knew he had been arrested the previous week for tampering with vehicles. The deputy conducted field tests and determined Minor was under the influence of a controlled substance.
The deputy again asked Minor where his vehicle was. He told the deputy it was parked in front of the convenience store near Armstrong and Highway 29, Paulich said.
Minor was not able to tell the deputy what type of vehicle he was driving. Paulich said the deputy believed that Minor was being evasive about the vehicle because it was possibly stolen.
Paulich said the deputy placed Minor under arrest for being under the influence of a controlled substance.
During a search of Minor the deputy located a Mercedes key. Paulich said the deputy checked the area in front of the convenience store for a Mercedes vehicle, locating a silver Mercedes that he believed was related to Minor.
The silver Mercedes was not locked so the deputy attempted to use the key from Minor to start the vehicle, but the key did not match the vehicle. Paulich said it was later determined that this Mercedes was not related when the owner of the vehicle contacted the deputy in front of the store.
Paulich said the deputy again questioned Minor about the location of his vehicle. Minor told the deputy it was parked further north.
The deputy drove north on Highway 29, locating a black Mercedes parked across the street from Hardister’s Market. The deputy used the Mercedes key found on Minor to unlock this Mercedes and found they matched, Paulich said.
Paulich said the deputy contacted the registered owner to verify that Minor was supposed to have the vehicle. The owner told the deputy he was just calling to report it stolen.
The vehicle’s owner responded to the deputy’s location and took possession of his Mercedes. He told the deputy that Minor had spent the night at his residence the previous night. When the owner woke up he noticed Minor and his vehicle were gone. Minor never had permission to take the Mercedes, Paulich said.
Paulich said Minor was booked into the Lake County Jail on charges of being under the influence of a controlled substance and vehicle theft.
Minor remained in custody on Saturday. Booking records show he is being held on $15,000 bail, and is scheduled to be arraigned in Lake County Superior Court on Monday.