Police have apprehended the person they believe stole an SUV from a south Salina garage earlier this week.
An officer was sent to Heritage at Hawthorne, 715 N. Ninth Street at approximately 11:30 a.m. Thursday for the report of someone sleeping in a vehicle, Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester said this morning. Upon arrival, the officer recognized the vehicle as possibly being the 2017 Buick Enclave belonging to Dennis Riordan, 67, of Salina, that was stolen from an open garage in the 900 block of Twin Oaks Drive.
READ: SUV stolen from south Salina garage earlier this week
The license plate on the Enclave, however, was registered to a Buick Envision belonging to Karen Brassea, 62, of Salina, Forrester said.
Inside the Enclave, the officer found Jacob Hewitt, 23, of Salina, Forrester said. The officer arrested Hewitt. Methamphetamine allegedly was found in Hewitt's pocket when he was searched.
Hewitt was arrested on the following requested charges, Forrester said.
●Felony possession of stolen property
●Possession of a controlled substance
●Possession of drug paraphernalia
●Theft
When the officer made contact with Brassea concerning the stolen license plate, it was discovered that the license plate currently on her Envision was the one registered to the stolen Enclave, Forrester said. Brassea told police that the switch could have been made either at her east Salina residence or at Kansas Wesleyan University, where she works, he said.