Car Thief Arrested After Stealing Same Car Twice In Less Than A Week

Wenatchee police arrested a car thief Thursday that stole the same car twice in five days.

Captain Edgar Reinfeld said 28-year-old Dylan Rice of Wenatchee stole a 1996 Honda Civic from the 700 block of Cashmere St on the morning of January 26th.

The vehicle had previously been started and was warming up outside at the time.

Two days later, on January 28th, the car was found near 9th Street and Wenatchee Avenue in a commercial parking lot. It was returned to the owner, however the keys were missing.

Sometime during the early hours of January 30th the car was again stolen.

"The lesson here is don't warm up your car with the keys in it." Reinfeld said, "If you have a remote start, that's fine. Those systems are designed to prevent the vehicle from being driven off without adding the keys to the situation."

A sergeant eventually found the vehicle driving in Wenatchee and successfully pulled it over. Rice, who had the keys, was arrested on two counts of theft of a motor vehicle and one count of possession of stolen property. A passenger was released at the scene but may eventually be charged.