An off-duty Spokane police officer recognized a black Nissan Pathfinder that pulled out in front of him as being stolen after he had taken the report earlier in the day while on duty. Officer Glenn Bartlett contacted police dispatch and continued to follow the vehicle to the Shadle Wal-Mart parking lot. .
Officers arrvied and placed the driver, Christal N. Helsley, 36, under arrest for Possession of a Stolen Vehicle.
Since February 25th, there has been an increase in stolen vehicle activity in the area of 12th Ave and South Ivory St. Several vehicles have been stolen from and recovered in a six mile radius of that location, including the Nissan Pathfinder recovered by Officer Bartlett.
Over his last five day work week, which ended yesterday, Officer Bartlett has recovered nine stolen vehicles. Bartlett’s patrol car is equipped with two cameras and an automatic license-plate recognition system allowing him to scan vehicle license plates and compare it against a nationwide database of stolen vehicles, allowing him to recover stolen cars faster.
While this does give Spokane Police Department another tool to assist them with stolen vehicles, citizens can still take precautions when leaving their vehicles unattended to avoid having their vehicle become a target.
- Secure Your Vehicle – park in a locked garage or well lit area, lock your doors, don’t leave the engine running unattended.
- Sterilize Your Vehicle – avoid leaving anything of value in plain sight inside the vehicle.
- Anti-Theft Devices – clubs, alarm systems
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