SALEM POLICE URGE NOT TO LEAVE UNATTENDED VEHICLES WARMING - TopicsExpress

SALEM POLICE URGE NOT TO LEAVE UNATTENDED VEHICLES WARMING UP News Release from Salem Police Dept. The Salem Police Department is urging the public to not leave vehicles warming up unattended in the mornings. A northeast Salem man learned this lesson the hard way on the morning of January 12 when he left his 2001 Volkswagen Jetta warming up in his driveway at about 4:30 am as he prepared for work. The victim started his vehicle to warm it up and left it running with the key in the ignition as he went back into his residence to finish getting ready. When he went back out less than ten minutes later, the car had been stolen right from his driveway. The victim did the right thing and called 911 immediately to report the incident and the information on the stolen vehicle was immediately broadcast to patrol units in the area. Within about ten minutes, Salem Police Officer Robert Dowd spotted what looked like the stolen vehicle on Cordon Rd near Pennsylvania Ave SE. As he attempted to turn his patrol vehicle around to verify that the vehicle was in fact the stolen vehicle, it accelerated and turned eastbound onto State St, south onto 62nd Ave SE, ran the stop sign on 62nd Ave and Macleay Rd and turned eastbound on Macleay Rd. The vehicle then turned into the front yard of 6522 Macleay Rd and eventually crashed into a drainage ditch along the roadway. As Officer Dowd attempted to contact the driver of the stolen vehicle, the driver fled on foot and left a passenger in the vehicle. Once the passenger was taken into custody Officer Marty Miranda and his canine partner Enzo began to track the driver who had fled from the vehicle on foot, discarding various items of clothing along the way. The suspect was eventually found hiding under a tarp in the backyard of a neighboring residence and taken into custody without further incident. The passenger in the stolen vehicle was identified as 20-year old Casey Scott Higley of Keizer. He was charged with Unauthorized Use of Motor Vehicle, Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of Burglars Tools. The driver of the stolen vehicle was identified as 23-year old Samantha Diana Solis-Croucher with no known address. She was charged with Attempting to Elude a Police Officer, Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree, Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree, Theft in the First Degree from a Vehicle, Failure to Perform the Duties of a Driver Involved in an Accident and Unlawful Use of a Motor Vehicle. The Salem Police Department urges everyone to not leave running vehicles unattended at any time. Even if the vehicle is locked, it only takes a second for a thief to break the window and steal the vehicle. Every year during the cold winter months the Salem Police Department investigates several reports of vehicles that are stolen while left running and unattended. Please dont become a victim. Stay with your vehicle when warming it up and get to your destination safely and on time.