CHENEY – A woman believed to be living out of a U-Haul truck or camping nearby was arrested Tuesday, Aug. 2 for possession of a stolen U-Haul box truck.
Leah J. Foster, 31, was arrested in the Mitchell’s Harvest Foods parking lot, 116 W. First St., for possession of a stolen vehicle.
According to a police report, the vehicle was a 2007 GMC box truck owned by U-Haul.
“It had been stolen for a while,” Police Capt. Nate Conley said. “She probably legitimately acquired it.”
The investigation shows the vehicle was likely rented from a U-Haul dealer in Spokane in July.
When it wasn’t returned, the company reported the vehicle stolen July 27, records show.
“It was stolen in Spokane from one of the U-Haul establishments,” Conley said.
Somebody called police and reported the vehicle as being suspicious after being parked there several days in the parking lot, he said. While police were investigating the truck, Foster returned to the vehicle.
“It had been parked at the grocery store for several days,” he said, noting she was possibly living out of it or camping nearby.
Another vehicle case
In an unrelated attempted vehicle theft on the subsequent day, Wednesday, Aug. 3, David C. Rahnert, 45, was alleged caught in the act of trying to jump start a car he didn’t own.
According to a police report, a resident allegedly witnessed him tampering with a vehicle on private property in the 2300 block of Cheney-Spokane Road.
Officers investigating the call located Rahnert nearby and with evidence from the scene determined he had entered private property and was trying to jump start a 2004 Volvo XC70 passenger car he didn’t own.
He was arrested for attempted theft of a vehicle.
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, columnist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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