Originally published as a Visalia Police Department Facebook post –
“On July 25, 2021 at 1:40 p.m., patrol officers were dispatched to the area of Chinowth and Tulare for a report of a stolen vehicle.
Officers arrived and observed two males holding onto the suspect, Mark Staiger (64), who was in the stolen vehicle.
Through further investigation, officers learned the suspect met the victim in the 3700 block of West Feemster to purchase a used vehicle. As the victim was showing Staiger the vehicle, Staiger got into the vehicle and fled. The victim and another male got into two separate vehicles and chased after the suspect.
Two men who were nearby saw the suspect steal the vehicle and also chased the suspect in their car. Staiger pulled into a parking lot at Chinowth and Tulare. The victim and a male tried to get the stolen vehicle back but Staiger pepper sprayed them and fled again colliding into a vehicle.
The two additional males who saw what happened continued to chase the suspect and followed him into a parking lot on Tulare west of Chinowth. The two males broke out a window to the stolen vehicle and held onto the suspect until officers arrived.
Staiger was in possession of counterfeit bills. Staiger was booked at the Tulare County Adult Pre-Trial Facility for carjacking, assault with a deadly weapon, hit and run, and possession of counterfeit bills.”
