El Dorado sheriff’s vehicle stolen in Tahoe. It was caught 50 miles away
Placerville police used a spike strip to disable a patrol SUV allegedly stolen from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s office in South Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, allowing deputies to arrest a suspect without further incident, authorities say.
During a shift change early Wednesday morning, a deputy “noticed their loaded patrol SUV was gone from the parking lot” of the Tahoe office, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Sheriff’s officials began tracking the stolen vehicle, which was heading westbound on Highway 50, and relayed this information to the California Highway Patrol. The SUV was located near Camino, about 50 miles west of South Lake Tahoe, according to the news release.
The driver ignored law enforcement orders to pull over. Placerville police then used a spike strip, popping one tire of the SUV on Highway 50 near Schnell School Road, in Placerville, according to the sheriff’s news release.
The sheriff’s office arrested a suspect, identified as Jacob Randall Wolfe, who was wearing an El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office baseball cap when he was apprehended, according to the news release.
Sheriff’s officials say all gear in the vehicle was still locked in place and accounted for, but it is not yet clear how Wolfe gained access to the vehicle.
This story was originally published November 13, 2019 at 7:49 AM.
