Santa Rosa Man Arrested for Possessing Stolen Vehicle

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Evgen_Prozhyrko/iStock

A Santa Rosa man has been arrested in Petaluma for possession of a stolen vehicle. Late Thursday morning, a Petaluma officer was patrolling the parking lot of a local hotel when he saw a suspicious vehicle in one of the parking spaces. A record check of the vehicle revealed it had been reported stolen by the owner in San Pablo. Once the officers confirmed the vehicle was not occupied, they conducted surveillance in the area. A short while later, officers watched Victor Mendoza and Maribel Flores get into the stolen vehicle and appeared to be in the process of leaving. Officers conducted a high-risk traffic stop and arrested Mendoza for possession of a stolen vehicle. Flores, meanwhile, had an warrant for a previous arrest involving vehicle theft and was arrested.