Soap Lake Man Jailed For Allegedly Stealing Large Tractor

A Soap Lake man is behind bars after police say he was found in possession of a stolen tractor on Wednesday night.

The Grant County Sheriff's Office says its deputies and officers from the Quincy Police Department were dispatched to the 12000 block of Road P Northwest at around 9:15 p.m., after a resident reported a suspicious vehicle and a large piece of heavy machinery parked and idling near their residence.

Get our free mobile app

When authorities arrived, they found 47-year-old Jesus Salcedo-Alvarez sitting inside the vehicle and questioned him about the tractor.

Salcedo-Alvarez reportedly told investigators that he had been out looking for heavy equipment because it was "his job", and produced an insurance card listing the Grant County Public Works Department as the tractor's rightful owner.

Public Works staff was contacted and confirmed that Salcedo-Alvarez did not have permission to be in possession of the tractor, which is believed to have been stolen from a locked and fenced Public Works property nearby.

Detectives say Salcedo-Alvarez also had two bundles of keys belonging to other heavy equipment on his person.

He was arrested and booked into the Grant County Jail for investigation of motor vehicle theft and vehicle prowling.