Photo: Whitney Dase
PETALUMA – Leaving a vehicle in the middle of the street is never a wise decision even under the best of circumstances, and is even less so when that vehicle is stolen. This lesson apparently came the hard way for 52 year old Antioch resident Whitney Dase.
At approximately 4:00 P.M. on Saturday April 13th, a concerned resident called the Petaluma Police Department to alert them that a man had parked a vehicle in the middle of Baywood Drive and then walked way.
The resident who called the PPD gave them the license plate number of the abandoned vehicle, and a records check determined that it had been reported stolen just a few hours earlier, from San Rafael.
In addition, the reporting resident kept the PPD abreast of the suspect’s whereabouts as they worked to arrive on scene. The suspect was seen trying to open various parked cars before returning to the stolen vehicle and trying to drive away.
Arriving officers located 52-year-old Whitney Dase in the stolen vehicle at another intersection, where he was detained and placed under arrest. Dase, who was apparently also on felony probation out of Contra Costa County, was then booked into the Sonoma County Jail on charges of vehicle theft and possession of a stolen vehicle.
