Fake license plates lead to couple arrested for theft and conspiracy – The Willits News

Two people were recently arrested on suspicion of conspiracy and theft after they were approached about a stolen vehicle in the parking lot of Kohl's, Ukiah police reported.

According to UPD, at around 1:15 a.m. on August 7, an officer was patrolling the parking lot of the department store in the 400 block of North Orchard Avenue after, as the UPD reports, “noticing an increase in the number of homeless people in the parking lot and a significant increase in trash accumulation.”

While checking the area, the officer reported seeing a man and a woman “in a white Toyota Highlander that had old 'dealer plates' on the front and rear bumpers that are no longer used in California. When someone purchases a vehicle, they now receive a temporary paper license plate that is unique to that vehicle and its owner.”

When assisting officers reviewed the records, they reportedly found that the vehicle “had been reported stolen in Redding (and that both individuals) had given the officer names that did not match.” According to UPD, this often happens when “criminals attempt to conceal their true identity.”

As an officer approached to detain the suspects, the man “got up and fled on foot” toward the McDonald's at the corner of South Orchard Avenue and East Perkins Street – the man was later identified by UPD as Lane Michael Johnson, 26, of Crescent City.

After chasing Johnson into the parking lot of the now-closed JC Penney store, “three officers reportedly subdued him and were eventually able to handcuff him. During a search during his arrest, suspected methamphetamine was found on him.”

The woman, later identified as Hanna Nicole Fierro-McGarry, 23, of Oregon, had been arrested prior to the foot pursuit. After Johnson was returned to the vehicle, officers searched the vehicle and reported finding: “several social security cards that did not belong to Johnson or Fierro-McGarry (and) a replica Glock 19 pistol under the driver's seat, which was later determined to be a pellet gun.”

Johnson, who reportedly had an arrest warrant for “burglary” out of Del Norte County, was initially taken to the Adventist Health Ukiah Valley emergency room for a medical evaluation before being booked into the Mendocino County Jail. He was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, identity theft, conspiracy, resisting arrest, providing a false identification to an officer and possession of a controlled substance.

Fierro-McGarry, who was a missing person from Redding, was taken directly to the county jail on charges of possession of a stolen vehicle and conspiracy.

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