Carson City deputies arrest man after car rented in Bakersfield was reported stolen
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Thu, 12/19/2013 - 11:14am
A 33-year-old transient was arrested Wednesday on a felony charge of driving a stolen vehicle after he had not returned it to a California car rental agency, according to the Carson City Sheriff's Office.
Jeffrey Lawson is being held in Carson City Jail on $10,000 bail. According to the arrest report, officers assigned to the Special Enforcement Team went to a local motel in the 1300 block of North Carson Street to look for a number of wanted subjects.
Officers learned Lawson had checked into a room and was driving a white Toyota Sedan. Lawson then came out of his room and then went to the office to check out. The officer asked if he could speak with him and showed him pictures of the subjects wanted by authorities. Lawson stated he didn't know them, that he was from Arizona on his way to Winnemucca to visit friends.
The man was asked to produce identification, in which he reached inside the crotch area of his pants and pulled out a white tube sock that was attached to a string in his pants. The man told officer he kept his ID in his crotch so that it wouldn't get stolen, according to the arrest report.
Officers observed the man became very nervous as he rifled through the tube sock looking for his ID, according to the arrest report. He was checked for warrants and the registration status on the Toyota, which came back through dispatch as a rental car.
Officers obtained a key for the room in which Lawson had already checked out. The room was in severe disarray, according to the arrest report. While inside the room an officer heard another officer ask Lawson if he had anything illegal in the car and if he could look inside. The man sat in the car and stated he was going to call his attorney and rolled up his window. Based on the man's behavior, officers requested dispatch look further into the database to determine if he had a felony record status.
Dispatch advised that they had gotten a return on the Toyota registration, which was listed as stolen vehicle. The stolen vehicle entry listed Lawson as the suspect. Dispatch confirmed the vehicle was stolen from Bakersfield, Calif.
Lawson was removed from the vehicle and told of the stolen car status. The man stated it was not stolen as his rental was still valid. Officers found the rental agreement on the Toyota dash which stated he had rented it on Nov. 14, 2013 for two days and was supposed to return the car on Nov. 16, 2013.
When rented the car had 22,300 miles. The Toyota showed 29,000 miles on the odometer. The Toyota also had damage to the interior map light and door handle, exposing open voids in those areas, the arrest report states. Lawson had recent drug arrests from Bakersfield in June 2013 for transporting controlled substances. He also had prior arrests for stolen vehicles and taking a vehicle without owner consent.
He was taken to jail and booked on a charge of possession of a stolen vehicle. The Toyota was released to Carson City Enterprise Rental management.
